


Marked

by welpshitcannedbeef



Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/Grand Order, Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night (Visual Novel), Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: Ahaha nooo Arthur don’t lose control aha your so sexy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Blood, Blood Drinking, Blood Loss, Blood and Gore, Break Up, Canon-Typical Violence, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Gore, HOOOOO BOI ARTHUR BABY, HOOOOOO BOY HERE WE GO, Hallucinations, Hook-Up, Hypnosis, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Loss of Control, M/M, Making Out, Murder, Non-Sexual Submission, Panic Attacks, Showers, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, Why Did I Write This?, aka “constantly being pestered by the same bitch”, and gilgamesh too lmao, arthur is way darker than he should be lmao, bro diarmuid straight up killed them, but he sexy tho, chapter 12 and 19 are authors notes, im editing chapter formats let me vibe, lancelot is best dad, like a fuckin ton of blood loss, lmao arthur is hot af, mash is best kouhai, merlin/romani is all about skipping the whole "dating thing", oh kingu im so sorry, why is gilgamesh the levelheaded one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:34:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 87,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21866053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welpshitcannedbeef/pseuds/welpshitcannedbeef
Summary: Romani didn’t know what he was expecting when he first moved into the city. DaVinci had told him that the only thing he had to worry about was the amount of rain the city had.What she didn’t warn him about was the series of unexplained murders that were all over the news.
Relationships: Arthur Pendragon | Saber/Bedivere | Saber, Fujimaru Ritsuka/Mash Kyrielight | Shielder, Gilgamesh | Archer/Ozymandias | Rider, Romani Archaman/Merlin | Caster, mordred/nightingale if you interpret it that way
Comments: 60
Kudos: 147





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic was brought to you by “I zoned out during AP Physics ™️“

**intro**.

_“Okay, dad, I’ll call you when I get home. Love you.”_

_The streets were empty, the rain was pouring, and the thunder was loud. The girl opened her umbrella and hurried to walk home in the cold, quiet wetness of the night. She was already thinking of all the things she had to do when she got back to her apartment, like feed the dog and do some last-minute additions and edits to her research final. She sighed and put in her earbuds before she took a shortcut that would lead her home like she always did. It was a dark alleyway that weaved through the city without being on the main road, and it was crowded with bikers during the day but completely vacant at night. It would be abnormal if the girl passed more than four people at this time at night, but she wasn’t worried. It was a quick walk home anyways. She was almost in her own world, doing a little meditational breathing as the music in her ears and the umbrella over her head blocked the sounds and movements of everything around her._

_Every_ _one_ _around her too._

_She couldn’t hear the footsteps of the person behind her, nor could she see their shadow when they passed her and slipped out of sight, but she felt their presence and paid it no mind. That’s always how the city was at night; cold, dark, and probably rainy. People were used to the eerie feeling and they usually all kept to themselves, that’s what made the city so creepy at night. The girl didn’t mind though, as long as she got food into her little brother’s tummy. She skipped a song she didn’t like with distaste before she turned the corner..._

_Right into a wall--no, a person. They felt like concrete, cold and unmoving. It was probably the person that had just passed her._

_The girl apologized quickly, not bothering to look up at the figure as she took one earbud out of her ear and moved to the right in order to continue walking. The person stepped in front of her, not allowing her to move. She tried moving to the left, but the person stopped her again. With an impatient huff, the girl looked up at the person with a demanding look._

_Fangs._

_Sharp fangs that glinted in the dim glow of the street lights and a cruel, twisted smile was all she saw._

_Then a shrill scream echoed throughout the city._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont mind me im just rearranging the chapters


	2. Friday Morning

**morning**.

“Olga Marie Animusphere, a 24 year-old grad student found dead in the alleyways last night at 11:23 PM.” Deputy Arash walked in without his usual smile and plopped the case file onto Sherlock’s desk with a sad look on his face. “Another accident.” Sherlock took the file and opened it with a frown, pictures of the girl presenting themselves right away. He picked up one of the pictures and looked at it quietly. She looked to be a girl around five feet tall with white hair that stopped at her waist and hazel eyes that gleamed at the camera. Sherlock placed the pictures out of his way on the desk before he read through the profile page on the front.

“Penterwall University...I studied there. It’s a nice school.” Sherlock observed. 

“Yeah, she was finishing an astronomy project before it all happened. Her dad was the last one to talk to her. Seemed devastated when I called and told him the news.”

“Is he here?” Sherlock raised an eyebrow at the sheriff, who shook his head.

“Out for business. Only the woman who found the poor girl is here. Her neighbors told me she was a usually gentle person, but even now she seems pretty freaked out about what she saw.”

“Is that so? The situation must be pretty bad for a collected person like her to lose her calm.”

“See for yourself.” Arash pointed to the file in his hands. Sherlock quirked an eyebrow before placing the profile pages aside. More pictures fell into his hand; pictures of a white-haired girl collapsed against a building wall, her own blood drenching her university shirt. A huge chunk of her neck was missing and there was a hole where her heart should’ve been, making the whole scene look like something out of a horror film. Sherlock’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked over the inhumanely pale body in the image. It was bloody, but he could see the strings of the skin hanging limp from her neck and the remains of her ribs resting on her stomach. There was a piece of white by her neck, Sherlock almost thought it was just her hair, but when he looked at it in a zoom-in photo, he saw it was the remains of vertebrae stripped clean of muscle. The bone looked broken and chipped too; as if someone had crushed it. Sherlock must have looked as stunned as he felt since Arash sighed.

“Told ya. It’s a rough thing to see a girl torn up like that.”

“I’ll say. This is the same thing as what happened to that man last Wednesday...Fergus McRoich.”

“What’re you gonna do? That’s two murders with the same injuries: ripped neck and no heart. It’ll be a scare to the public if it makes the news.” Sherlock looked up at Arash, his brows knit together.

“Bring that lady in. let me hear what she has to say.” Arash stood and opened the door, calling the lady into the room before moving out of the way so that she could walk in. The woman was about five feet tall with braided long hair that reached the back of her calves. She gripped a cross tightly with both hands, and she couldn’t seem to stop shaking and whispering prayers as she walked into the room. Sherlock stood and helped her sit down before moving around his desk to take his seat again. He inhaled deeply before he began.

“Ms, I know this is a rough experience for you to go through. I’m only going to ask you a few questions, and you won’t have to be involved in this again. Is that alright?” The woman nodded shakily and Sherlock was already please at how cooperative she was being. Usually, people like her would be hysterical and noncompliant, but she was willing. “What’s your name?” The woman wet her lips before she spoke.

“M-my name is Jeanne. Jeanne D’Arc.” Sherlock smiled at her, knowing that a nice approach was a good way to calm people down.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Jeanne.” He leaned forward in his chair with a patient look as Arash took out a pen and paper. “Now, why don’t you tell me what happened last night?” Jeanne shuddered slightly before she nodded.

“It was horrible...I didn’t know the girl at all but...I was upstairs with a friend of mine, Martha, she was staying the night at my place since she didn’t want to walk home in the pouring rain. We were just getting to go to sleep when suddenly...we heard a loud scream.” Sherlock raised an eyebrow and listened intently. “Of course, a girl’s scream at 11:20 PM is worrying...so I ran downstairs and went to go see. I just didn’t think I’d see what I saw…”

“Did you notice anything strange in the environment?” When Jeanne gave him a confused look he decided to elaborate. “A knife, dents in a garbage bin, a pipe pulled from its place?” Jeanne shook her head.

“No, everything was the same except for the dead body that was just lying there.”

“Did you see anyone else there?” Sherlock asked. Jeanne jumped at that, nodding quickly.

“Yes! Yes, I did!” She exclaimed urgently. “I couldn’t tell who they were at all in the dark and in the rain, but they ran as soon as I got there. That was when I called the police.”

“Are you sure you didn’t see anything else?”

“I’m positive…that’s all I saw. I didn’t even know something like that can exist outside of the movies…” Sherlock sighed before nodding.

“I see. Thank you, Ms. Jeanne. You did the right thing.” He said, handing her his card. “You can go, and let me know if anything else comes up.” Jeanne nodded as she stood, took his card, and left. Sherlock sighed, looking over to Arash as he handed him the notes he took, which weren’t very plentiful minus the remark about a person fleeing the scene.

“This may be another killing spree.” Arash nodded, knowing what he was referring to. 

“I can guarantee it.” Arash paused. “Which is why I have someone to work this case with you.” Sherlock narrowed his eyes slightly. “I know you usually pick your partners when it comes to cases like these, or you just work alone, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this one, Holmes. Trust me on this.” Sherlock hesitated before he sighed with a nod, letting Arash move to call the man in. Sherlock was more than surprised to see a familiar tall man with a white bushy mustache and glasses in formal attire in front of him.

“Moriarity.” Sherlock acknowledged bitterly.

  
“It’s been a while, Holmes! We get to solve crimes just like the old days!” He laughed loudly. “I’ve already started looking into the case, and it turns out that there was an unidentified person at the scene! We’ve already taken our first step…” Sherlock tuned out Moriarity’s loud talking with a grimace. Not only did he have to solve this gruesome murder case, but he also had to work with his old college competition...

Peachy.


	3. Friday Afternoon

**afternoon**.

Roman stretched out his back after he helped the mover crew place his last bit of furniture in his new apartment living room with a sigh. It’d been such a long drive, nine hours to be exact, and he was exhausted from moving all the furniture and boxes around. All he wanted to do was sleep, but DaVinci had told him to call him as soon as he was done setting up the place. His new boss wanted to meet him too, so Roman decided to call DaVinci before taking a ten-minute power nap, then he’d meet his boss. He picked up his phone and made the phone call, half hoping that DaVinci wouldn’t answer so that he could take his nap, but she knew better than to let him get rest. She was his best friend, after all, DaVinci wasn’t going to just let him move away to a different city without establishing a way to call him every single day. Her voice chimed over the speaker as soon as she picked up the phone.

“Hey, heeeey! You finished unloading?” Roman huffed out a tired laugh as he collapsed onto the sofa.

“Yeah, all I have to do now is unpack.” He looked over at the huge pile of boxes in his dining room and sighed helplessly. “Except it’s going to take at least a week for me to get a quarter of the way done.” DaVinci laughed from the other end.

“I told you to lighten up the load but you didn’t listen! Pay the price of not listening to a genius!” Ah, there was the comment he’d been waiting for. The I-got-into-Harvard-so-that-makes-me-a-genius comment.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

“Have you seen any of your new neighbors yet?”

“No, but I’m sure I’ll run into them eventually.” Roman yawned before rubbing his eyes. “I have to go meet up with my boss in a little bit but I’m gonna take a nap first. Do you need anything?”

“Nope! Just call me when you’re done and tell me how it goes!” She hummed before she cut the line. Roman’s arm slumped against the couch and he closed his eyes with a sigh, embracing how tired he was and preparing himself for the best nap he’d ever take.

Except he couldn’t fall asleep.

No matter how much he tried to loosen himself up, Roman simply could not fall asleep. It was all the feelings he hated in one. The feeling of forgetting something, the feeling of being watched, the feeling of somebody eavesdropping on a private conversation. It nagged at him, so he got up and looked around the apartment. He made sure the windows were closed and his patio door was locked before letting out a relieved sigh. DaVinci had always told him that his brain went into panic mode for no reason, this was probably one of those times. Roman picked up his phone, umbrella, and keys before walking out of his apartment. He closed the door, made sure it was locked, and set the doctor’s office on his GPS before he walked down the stairs. He’d only made it down one floor before he bumped into a man not much taller than him with tan skin, dark brown hair, and gold eyes. The man turned to look at him before he smirked.

“So you were the one causing all that racket. My roommate had to leave since it was giving him such a huge headache.” Roman jumped, trying to find what to say, and settled for scratching the back of his head with a slight laugh.

“Ahaha, yeah. Sorry, I told the movers to be quiet, but I guess they didn’t listen.” Roman couldn’t move his gaze away from the man’s eyes, a brilliant gold shining in the dimness of the rain. They were pressuring, intimidating, powerful, dark, hungry, _starved_ —

“It doesn’t matter as long as it’s quiet now.” The man said before holding a hand out. “Ozymandias. I live in that apartment right there.” Roman blinked in surprise before taking his hand and laughing again, not even realizing how fast his heart was beating.

“Roman. I’m in the apartment right above you. A pleasure to meet you.” He said before pulling his hand away and fixing his sleeve in order to avoid staring too much at Ozymandias’s eyes.

“What brought you to a city like this? Surely not the weather.” Roman shook his head with a smile.

“No, I got a job at the doctor’s office here.” Ozymandias looked intrigued.

“The one right down the street? It’s usually busy, and not in a good way.” He said. Roman shrugged, not seeming to care.

“I guess I really won’t know until I see. I don’t think it’ll be terrible.” Ozymandias nodded, seeming to understand what he was saying. “What about you?”

“A banker. The bank isn’t too far of a walk from here if you’re interested. Ranked the best in the city.” His phone rang, interrupting the conversation. Ozymandias looked to see who was calling him with a grimace. “I need to take this.” He said, looking at him again with those golden eyes. “It was a pleasure making your acquaintance.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you around.” Roman said, excusing himself before leaving.

He couldn’t forget about those eyes for the rest of the day.


	4. Friday Evening/Night

**evening**.

Ritsuka knew he’d hit an all-time low when he practically dragged himself out of his Chemistry class to get to his locker at the end of the school day, and get this--he actually _wanted_ to stay in class. He took the news of Olga’s death pretty badly since she was practically his older sister, and he hasn’t been the same ever since the police at his doorstep just dropped the news in his lap. He was also told by the police to go about everything normally until they got to the bottom of the situation. That made him scoff. Yeah, he was just going to stay silent about the fact that his sister had probably been _murdered_ and he could be that killer’s next target. They just didn’t want it to make the news, but just they wait, Ritsuka had a feeling the whole city would be shaken up. Whatever, Ritsuka had more things to think about, like how he was now living alone. Since Olga’s university and his high school were really close to each other, they both shared a flat at the halfway point between both campuses together. Olga’s dad was still in business away from the city, so they lived without an adult...but now Olga was dead...and he didn’t have anyone to live with. So what was the point of going home so early? He opened his locker with a heaving sigh and packed up his things before he heard a familiar voice.

“Senpai!” He turned as he shut his locker to see Mash hurrying up to him. Ritsuka smiled tiredly at her, glad to see a familiar face during a hard time like this. Mash was the first person to lend her support and a shoulder to cry on when Olga died. She was so kind, almost too kind, and she knew just what to say in order to help others. Even Olga said Mash was welcome in their flat whenever she wanted to stop by, and Olga _hated_ it when there were guests at home.

“Hi, Mash. What’s up?” He greeted, knowing that he was getting a ride home with her today.

“Not much, really. Dad and Gawain are going to take us to Tristan’s place for lunch.” Ritsuka nodded, already feeling grateful. Lancelot and Gawain, two best friends both facing financial hardships so they moved into an apartment together with Mash. Lancelot, Mash’s biological dad, was a divorced author who was the more serious of the two. He was more protective of Mash, which was understandable considering she didn’t have a mom and she just wanted her to be happy, but Gawain was...lighter. He was a married carpenter whose wife studied abroad in accounting, and he was the one who came up with a more financially stable plan for him and Lancelot so that they wouldn’t struggle anymore. Ritsuka was grateful that they both welcomed him into their home and treated him like a son, especially after Olga’s incident.

“Arthur’s going too. They said they had something they wanted to talk to you about.” Mash informed as they walked to the school’s exit. Ritsuka seemed anxious about that. He really didn’t want to talk about Olga to anyone. He just wanted to move on, and talking about it wasn’t the way to do that. Mash seemed to read his mind, shaking her head with a comforting look.

“Don’t worry. It’s not about Olga. It’s more like they’re going to tell you good news.” She said as they spotted their ride, a recent silver sedan that looked newer than most of the cars in the parking lot. They walked over quickly and got in the back seats, greeting the two in the front seats as they finished up their conversation.

“We’ll tell him when we get there.” Lancelot told Gawain firmly before smiling welcomingly at Mash and Ritsuka.

“Welcome aboard. I hope you’re hungry, because Tristan has a full course meal waiting for us.” Gawain said, flashing Ritsuka a knowing smile. Ritsuka nodded, impressed at how Gawain knew he was just about ready to eat an elephant.

“I’m starving. Lunch today was gross so I didn’t eat.” Ritsuka hugged over his stomach as it rumbled loudly.

“Really? What did they serve?” Lancelot looked at them from the rearview mirror as he pulled onto the main road.

“Turkey and gravy, but the turkey was terribly dry and the gravy was clumped up and liquidy at the same time.” Mash described with a frown. “But I’m sure Tristan has something amazing prepared.” Ah, Tristan, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist in archery. He was really close friends with Gawain and Lancelot, and his house door was open at any time for them to just sit and talk with him. He was a super nice guy, super quiet too, and Gawain had even told Ritsuka and Mash that he was the one who taught him and Lancelot to cook. Ritsuka really enjoyed Tristan’s company, especially when he showed Ritsuka how he handled a bow.

“I think Arthur said he was going to bring something for dessert. I can’t wait.” Gawain said, starting a long conversation between him, Mash, and Lancelot. Arthur was...odd...if you had a single word to describe him. Like, he was too different to be average, but also too average to be different. He worked at the bar behind the doctor’s office, and he made good money there as the bartender. Ritsuka blamed his looks. Arthur was your typical dream boy. He was tall and muscled, though not as bulky as Gawain, with blonde hair and a really polite and positive attitude, but the one thing about Arthur that really caught Ritsuka’s attention was his emerald green eyes. Ritsuka could swear ten times to whatever God that existed that one time they almost seemed to glow in the light of their living room. Gawain and Lancelot had explained its cause being that Arthur got his eyes from his mom, but that didn’t explain why it was like he had highlighter fluid in his eyes. Mash said it was a rare phenomenon in the eye, and she explained it well enough that Ritsuka didn’t worry about it anymore, he just found it really cool. Eventually, the car pulled up into the driveway of Tristan’s house, a huge house surrounded by plenty of trees that looked like it would be on TV. Well, if you were a seven-time Olympic gold champion, you would have to be rich right? Ritsuka and Mash were the first in the house, greeting Tristan and Arthur with smiles and waves before Gawain and Lancelot entered after them.

“Come on in, the food’s all ready for you.” Arthur gestured to the table full of food as he spoke.

“It looks amazing.” Ritsuka said, eyeing the lasagna with a watering mouth. “I don’t know what I’ll have first.”

“Eat as much as you want. I’m sure you’re really hungry.” Tristan said, smiling at him. They all sat down and began to eat straight away, and Ritsuka made a mental note to ask Tristan to teach him how to cook since he wouldn’t have Olga to cook for him anymore.

“You aren’t going to eat anything, Arthur? You need something to keep you full behind the bar.” Gawain asked, making Arthur blink in surprise before he shook his head with a slight laugh.

“No, I already ate before I got here. I can only stay with you all for a short time.” Arthur paused. “I got stuck with the early shift today.” Ritsuka stopped mid-chew.

There it was again.

  
Ritsuka was sure he was just overreacting, but the way Arthur paused just made it all seem...worrying.

“This is absolutely delicious, don’t you wish you could cook like this, Senpai?” Mash asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts as she helped herself to some potatoes. He nodded, swallowing a mouthful of lasagna.

“You should teach me how to cook, Tristan. So that I can live off of something other than cup ramen.” Lancelot paused before he and Gawain looked at each other before they looked at him.

“Ritsuka, Gawain and I were thinking. Instead of leaving you to leave by yourself after...the incident, would you like to come live with us and Mash? It’d be hard for someone as young as you to take care of themselves.” Lancelot looked hesitant, but he was patient. Ritsuka’s eyes widened slightly at the request before he swallowed roughly around the food in his mouth.

“A-are you sure?” He asked. “I don’t want to make things hard on you…” Mash shook her head eagerly.

“You won’t! Not at all! You can come live with us so that you won’t live by yourself, and we’ll be glad to have you!” She said, her eyes pleading him to say yes.

“What about the flat Olga bought?”

“A friend of mine knows a realtor, I can call them and have them help you sell it at a reasonable price.” Arthur explained. Ritsuka glanced over at Tristan, who nodded encouragingly. He sighed. How else was he going to live? He wouldn’t be able to survive one day on his own. This was literally his only option.

“Okay, but you’ll tell me if it gets too hard on you.” Mash brightened and clapped her hands happily as Lancelot and Gawain smiled at him approvingly. Arthur’s eyes gleamed in their usually abnormal fashion and he took out his phone.

“I’ll make the call.”

**night**.

“Week one in this rainy-ass city…” Cu kicked a can, sending it flying at an alarming speed at Yan Qing’s face. “I hate it.” Yan Qing caught the can before dropping it carelessly, looking over at Medb with a sigh.

“There you go princess, it sucks here.” He said, running a hand through his hair before crushing the can effortlessly under his foot.

“None of that. You just haven’t eaten here yet.” She said before she smiled mischievously. “I had a man, on Wednesday, I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like it.”

“You’ve had many men, Medb.” Cu corrected, giving her an annoyed, but knowing look. “You’re going to have to specify how you had him.”

“I drank him. Took his heart and jugular to save for later.” Medb stated with a satisfied look. “The people here are delicious. You won’t say this place sucks after you’ve tried the people. Ask Diarmuid, I was with him last night.” Diarmuid looked at her with a grimace.

“We almost got caught, but it’s true. The people here don’t taste bad.” Shuten looked up from her phone and laughed softly.

“Is that so? I guess we have to try at least one of them.” She said before looking at Mordred. “What do you think?” Mordred smiled wickedly, fangs scraping his lip as they slid down at the thought of some good prey.

“I guess I’ll just try one for myself.”


	5. Saturday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens mwahaha

**morning.**

"Another one already?" Sherlock asked incredulously as Arash handed him and Moriarity another file.

"Yeah, a woman in her fifties. It was even worse than the victim two nights ago." Arash handed him a picture. "Jugular and heart are still gone, but this woman got beat up bad." That was an understatement. The woman in the picture was a bloody mess, and her arms were bent at unnatural angles, sharp shards of bones poking through her skin. Her legs were in the same condition, and the pool of blood around her had bits and parts of her ribs swimming in it.

"Not a pretty sight for a woman like her." Sherlock placed the picture on his desk with a sigh. "Who found her?" Arash hesitated, knowing the question was coming eventually.

"The guy who found her and called 911 works is with the media, Hans C. Anderson.” Sherlock recognized the name immediately and cringed, already knowing what was to come. “This guy controls the media here. The newspaper, magazines, TV...You name it, he's the boss of it." Arash handed Moriarity a newspaper. "This got published this morning. There's no keeping this situation on the down-low anymore."

"'Gruesome Murders Start the Second Killing Spree in Five Years: Three Victims so Far, but The Numbers Are Sure to Rise.'" Moriarity read aloud before handing the newspaper to Holmes. Sherlock read the newspaper before scoffing.

"'I was lucky to escape the scene, I barely got away. I was sure I was done for since the killer was still around.'" Sherlock folded up the newspaper before plopping it onto his desk, annoyed at how...extra he was. "He's overexaggerating it. Two nights ago, the killer got Ms. Animusphere and fled the scene completely in three minutes, which is the approximate amount of time the witness had to put on a jacket, grab a phone, and go down three flights of stairs before running behind the building. That's an incredible amount of time for someone to kill a person and run away."

"You never know, Holmes." Arash sighed, shaking his head.

"Okay. Let's assume the killer wasn't that fast. There's no way a killer that did something like this would stick around after the cops were called." Sherlock crossed his arms. Moriarity picked up his car keys and his phone.

"Looks like we're going to have to ask the man ourselves. There's no way we can be sure." Moriarity said.

"We'd be wasting our time, and I don't want to show up in another one of his news articles." Sherlock huffed. "I've had enough of being criticized by him." Moriarity raised an eyebrow.

"But what if the killer stayed and got a good look at Anderson? Then he would be their next victim, no? A killer wouldn't want a witness to be loose." He said. "Hans could be exaggerating, or he could be telling the truth. There's no way of knowing unless we ask him." Sherlock was hesitant, but he sighed. That's right...even though Moriarity was his old college competition, he wasn't as dumb as he made himself out to be. Moriarity was just about as much of a cunning man as Sherlock, that's why they were always trying to one-up each other.

"Fine, but you owe me if it turns out being a waste of time." Sherlock relented, putting on his jacket and grabbing his umbrella before he left with Moriarity.

The car ride felt like hours.

All Sherlock could think about was the one time Anderson had ridiculed his ways of solving a case everywhere. News, newspapers, radio, magazines, social media...all of it. He was the boss of an entire corporation, after all, he had the press and TV studios in a single building.

And that little gremlin used it all to criticize him.

Sherlock wasn’t even sure it was _legal_ to harm someone’s business in order to further their own, but since then Sherlock had tried every way possible to appease the guy by fixing whatever he criticized him for. No matter how hard he tried, it just didn’t seem like there was a way for Anderson to be pleased. Sherlock was basically blowing air into a balloon with a hole in it; he would fix one mistake and Anderson would write badly about him for another. Sherlock sighed, shifting in his seat as Moriarity took the long road that would lead to the news tower.

“Are you going to be okay with asking him questions? I know you and him don’t have a good history.” He looked over at Sherlock seriously.

“I’ll leave asking questions to you unless I think of a question to ask. Leave the note-taking to me.” Sherlock muttered as Moriarity parked his car. They walked quickly into the lobby of the corporation, trying to avoid getting wet in the rain.

The lobby was ginormous.

The desk was facing the door, and there were two stairwells going upwards on either side of it. The carpet was red and black, with eggshell-colored designs that swirled across the ground in intricate patterns before they met at a flowery center. There were huge glass chandeliers that hung from the high ceiling and lit up the lobby with a brilliant light. Moriarity looked around, impressed, as they both walked up to a desk. A short woman dressed in formal business attire greeted them with a smile, looking between the two of them a little curiously.

“Welcome to WNN studio. How may I help you gentlemen today?” She greeted. Sherlock and Moriarity held up their badges simply, Sherlock taking the opportunity to introduce themselves.

“Detective Holmes and Moriarity. We’re investigating a case and were wondering if Mr. Anderson was able to give us some of his time to answer a couple of questions?” The woman inhaled deeply, shaking her head apologetically as she shrugged.

“I’m terribly sorry Mr. Holmes, but he’s getting ready for talking on the news about the murders.” She said, not seeming sorry at all. Sherlock clenched his jaw and decided to try again, but Moriarity stopped him and smiled politely at the lady.

“How about this...we’ll tip you for every minute we talk to him, and we expect to be in there for a while.” He offered. The woman’s eyes widened before she picked up the phone and dialed a number quickly. She waited for whoever she was dialing, who Sherlock assumed was Anderson, before she spoke.

“Mr. Hans? Yes. I apologize, but there are two _very_ kind gentlemen in the lobby who would like to speak to you and wish you luck before you go on air.” She paused. “Yes, they’ll be sent right up.” The woman hung up before beaming at the two. “Mr. Hans will see you now.” She turned to talk to another person at the desk as Moriarity gave Sherlock a triumphant look, making him roll his eyes. The woman pointed to a man that was waiting patiently beside her. “He’ll take you up alright? Be sure to take your time, Mr. Hans is a very patient man.” The man nodded before gesturing to the stairs on their right.

“Right this way.” He said. Sherlock and Moriarity let the man take a large lead before Sherlock turned to Moriarity.

“You’re unbelievable. Tipping her per minute? Are you insane?” Sherlock hissed.

“Information can be bought if you tip well enough.” Moriarity had a matter of fact tone in his voice, making Sherlock scoff.

“Bribery is shameless, but I don’t care. It’s out of your pocket, not mine.” Moriarity chuckled as they approached Anderson’s door. The man knocked on Anderson’s door and waited for permission to enter.

“You’ll make up for it when this doesn’t end up being a waste of time.” Sherlock would’ve strangled Moriarity had it not been for the fact that Anderson opened the door grandiosely. The man guiding them bowed before hurrying away, leaving Moriarity and Sherlock watch as Anderson made a self-centered introduction.

“Hello! I see a couple of my fans have decided to see me in person! I’m a very busy man, though, so let’s make this--” Anderson cut himself short when he saw who he was talking to, and he immediately moved to close the door. Moriarity stopped the door with a laugh, giving Anderson a friendly smile.

“Go away, I’m not answering any questions about what I saw last night.” Anderson huffed.

“We’ll only take a second of your time. I’m a personal fan myself and I’d like you to get on the air as soon as possible. Let’s chat, shall we?”

“And what about Mr. ‘On-the-case’ here?” Anderson gave Sherlock a sideways look, sizing him up. Sherlock bit his tongue, deciding that bearing with this was the only way to get through it.

“Just here to take notes.” Moriarity reassured. “Don’t worry, Mr. Anderson, I’ve got the talking part of this.” Anderson gave them a stern look before he walked to his desk and sat down, letting the two enter the room and sit down.

“Let’s get this over with. What do you want?” Anderson huffed.

“We’re on the case of the three murders that occurred here in this city, and I couldn’t help but read your engaging article this morning. What happened, exactly? When I read, I was actually very worried about you.” Moriarity was playing the sympathy card, knowing that Anderson wanted to be treated like the important person he claimed was. He knew how to play Anderson’s ego like a violin. Anderson wore a grimace.

“It was like something out of a nightmare. I was walking home, minding my own business, before I tripped over something sticking out of the alleyway. Of course, I didn’t see it while I was walking so I looked to see what it was. A dead body was the last thing I was expecting to see.” Moriarity nodded in understanding as Sherlock jotted down the important parts of it all.

“Did you recognize the person you saw?” Moriarity asked. Anderson nodded, looking off to the side.

“The radio tower maintenance woman. She checked the radio tower weekly to make sure everything was alright. A nice woman she was. It’s a shame that she died that way.” Moriarity nodded in understanding.

“Did you notice any objects at the scene? Or anything out of place?” Moriarity was patient as Anderson thought for a moment.

“No, not a weapon or anything. Just me, the dead body, the rain, and…” Anderson paused, hesitating. Sherlock raised an eyebrow as Moriarity leaned forward in his seat.

“And…?” Anderson had their full attention now. Anderson shook his head, sighing.

“Nothing, I was probably just imagining things.” He said. “But I saw eyes. They were taller than me so I thought it was a person, but those eyes were glowing. That’s not something a human has.”

“Can you remember the eye color?” Sherlock asked, hoping Anderson wouldn’t ignore the question because he was the one asking.

“Blue...no, green. A teal-ish kind of color.” Anderson described. “I don’t know anyone with that eye color either.”

“So, what did you do? Once you saw those eyes?” Moriarity asked.

“I ran. I wasn’t going to wait and see if that thing was the killer or not.” Anderson said sternly. “But I heard it chasing me, I swear. So I entered the nearest super-market to give me some light. It didn’t follow me inside, and when I checked if it was outside...whatever or whoever it was disappeared. That’s when I called the cops.” Anderson stood, walking around the desk and looking at himself in the mirror before he looked at the two seriously. “Listen, both of you. I don’t know what’s going on, but leave me out of this. My job is just to keep the people informed so that they’re safe.” Moriarity sighed and stood up with Sherlock.

“Thank you, Mr. Anderson. We’ve received all the information we need. We’ll tell our police officer to keep you updated.” Moriarity said, patting Anderson’s shoulder. “Your information is crucial to us, so thank you for all of your help. Take care.” Anderson nodded, letting Moriarity and Sherlock leave. As they stepped down the stairs, Sherlock huffed.

“So we have glowing eyes or something like that, and this... _thing_ is capable of chasing a person.”

“It’s also capable of hiding itself really quickly.” Moriarity said, carelessly tossing a stack of cash at the woman that allowed them up as they hurried past the desk to the car. “It’s also capable of breaking bones, but anyone skilled in self-defense can do that. It can rip out a jugular and heart without tools too.”

“Or those tools weren’t left at the scene if that thing was a person. They still can have the weapon on hand.” Sherlock added as they both sat in the car. He sighed, rubbing his temples. All the information was jumbled and unclear, and Sherlock felt like he wasn’t getting anywhere. “What’s important is that we got the information we needed.” Moriarity smiled widely at him as he reversed the car.

“So it wasn’t a waste of time. You owe me a drink.”


	6. Saturday Afternoon

**midday.**

Roman pulled the door to the doctor’s office open, entering his new workplace for the second time ever with a small smile. The office was empty, minus a person sitting in the waiting area while reading the newspaper and a girl with blonde hair sitting at the reception desk that he didn’t meet yesterday. Nightingale walked out to the reception just as Roman put his umbrella on the umbrella rack by the door. Her face brightened and she smiled when she saw him, waving him over. Nightingale was the “co-boss” of the doctor’s office, a relatively tall woman with light peach hair and a calm attitude until someone got hurt; then she got serious. She was very welcoming of Roman when she met him the day before, and she was very patient in helping him around the office and manage the system on the computer. When Roman walked and joined her behind the counter, she looked to be in a great mood.

“Good afternoon.” Roman greeted with a wave. Nightingale waved back as the girl at the computer turned around and stood, surprised to see that he walked behind the desk instead of to the window to tell her his appointment time.

“Good afternoon, Roman. I’d like to introduce you to Ereshkigal. She wasn’t here yesterday when you stopped by, but it’s good that you meet her now when it’s your first ‘official’ day here.” The girl smiled slightly, waving at him.

“Hello, my name is Ereshkigal. I’m the receptionist and the other nurse here.” She held out her hand for him to shake. Roman noticed that Ereshkigal was a tad bit shorter than him, so she had to look up at him with her red eyes, she wore her hair in twin-tails and she had--

Wait. _Red_ eyes?

Roman blinked. There was no mistaking it, her eyes were red and had a bright little shine to them. Roman assumed they were color contacts immediately, knowing it was a trend nowadays. He smiled at Ereshkigal and took her hand, shaking it gently. Roman couldn’t help but think her grip was really firm, especially for a girl her size. Women usually had limp hands when they performed a handshake.

“I’m Roman. I moved into the city yesterday after I got the job here.” Ereshkigal quirked an eyebrow.

“Is that so? Welcome to the city. You’re going to be busier than you’re used to, just to let you know.” She said. Roman laughed lightly.

“So I’ve heard. I don’t mind. I’ve had times where I had to run around before.” Nightingale looked at him approvingly and nodded.

“That’s what I like to hear. Now, wait out here until I go grab some paperwork for you to fill out. I’ll be right back.” She said before she left. Roman walked out into the waiting room, putting his jacket on the coat rack before looking at his phone. DaVinci hadn’t texted him back still, so that could only mean that she was doing some intense research. He sighed quietly before he looked at the newspaper the person in the waiting room was reading.

The headline caught him completely off guard.

“Three murders?!” He asked, bewildered. The person folded the newspaper towards them smoothly, revealing a man in a tuxedo with golden hair spiked back. He wore blocky gold earrings and a designer watch, making the message clear to Roman that the guy was rich as all hell. He kind of reminded Roman of a cockatoo, but Roman vanquished the thought immediately, already feeling guilty to make a first impression like _that_.

“You seem surprised.” The man said indifferently. “This happened two years ago too, and it wasn’t exactly something that could be hidden.” He gave Roman a sideways look, and Roman noticed his gleaming red eyes.

Again with the red contacts! The fad even reached more professional-looking people!

“Don’t be rude, Gilgamesh.” Ereshkigal said, not looking up from the computer. “Those accidents weren’t known outside the city, but it was a big deal here, Roman. It’s not unusual that you didn’t know about them until now.” Roman was worried, but he nodded anyway. Nightingale returned from the back with another girl that looked to be Ereshkigal’s twin, except she had brown hair and had a different fashion taste. Other than that, everything else was exactly the same.

Even her eyes.

She had a blue lunchbox in her hands, and Roman recognized the brand to be the type that was insulated to keep the food cold.

“Are you talking about the murders that’ve taken the city up by a storm?” The girl asked, putting her hand on her hip as Nightingale handed him a paperclip with forms to fill out attached to it. Roman nodded, accepting the paperclip and making Nightingale narrow her eyes.

“It’s the same as the ones that happened two years ago,” Nightingale said bitterly, her tone icy and hateful. “Whoever went around killing people like that deserves the worst kind of hell.” Everyone looked at her curiously. “My ten year-old cousin, Jack, was the child victim.” Roman’s eyes widened slightly.

There was a child involved too?

“I can’t tell if you moved into this city at the best time or the worst time.” The man, Gilgamesh as Ereshkigal called him, said as he gave Roman a look. “This city isn’t safe at night. Thirty people died in the killing spree two years ago and fifteen were injured. Imagine how bad it’ll be if the killer isn’t caught within this week.” Roman frowned deeply, steeling his resolve.

“It doesn’t matter. My job as a doctor is to heal the ones that are hurt. Even if someone from this city crawled in here with only an arm, I’d stop everything I was doing to heal them. It looks like the only thing I have to do is be careful walking around on my own. My opinion of this city hasn’t changed at all.” He stated, making Nightingale relax and smile at him respectfully. The girl eyed him for a moment longer before she sighed.

“Well, I guess talking you into changing your mind isn’t going to work. Let’s go, Gilgamesh, I got my lunch.” Gilgamesh returned the newspaper as the girl crossed her arms. “I’m Ishtar, by the way, Ereshkigal’s sister. I work at the boutique two streets down, a block or so away from the florist.” Roman smiled wryly.

“I’m Roman. It was nice meeting you. You too, Gilgamesh.” He said. They didn’t answer that, the two simply turned and left. Roman sighed before he sat down and began filling out the paperwork Nightingale had handed to him. His phone vibrated, and when he checked what for, he saw it was DaVinci finally texting him back.

_“Hey~! Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner, I was really pushing to finish my report before the deadline. You okay?”_

Roman read the message once, twice, three times, while struggling with how he was going to reply before he typed up a simple response and hit ‘send’.

_  
“Yeah, I’m fine.” _

**afternoon.**

“So now you take the derivative of the equation so that you can find the instantaneous speed of the bullet.” Ritsuka pointed to the equation in front of Mash so that she could do as he explained, but Mash’s mind was too occupied with other things that stopped her from thinking properly. She made two mistakes in a row, and she was beginning to panic, afraid that Ritsuka would be disappointed that he wasn’t able to teach her properly. He was ridiculously smart when it came to math and logic to the point where Mash was envious, but only because she wanted to teach and help Ritsuka too. She felt like she was the only one being taught and supported, so Mash felt like she wasn’t being helpful. She bit her lip as she stared at the equation in front of her, unable to figure out what to write to make Ritsuka happy.

“Hey, Mash, are you okay?” He asked, looking at her worriedly. Mash blinked in surprise, her thoughts interrupted.

“I-I’m sorry. I can’t really concentrate…” She apologized, her head hanging in guilt. Ritsuka smiled at her comfortingly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“That’s okay, I was going to say to take a break anyway.” He said. Lancelot looked up from his book on the sofa to look at both of them.

“Are you hungry? I can go cook if you want.” He suggested. Mash and Ritsuka shook their heads, smiling at him thankfully.

“No thanks, we’re okay.” Ritsuka said, moving up from the ground to sit on the couch. He’d moved in this morning, and Mash, Lancelot, and Gawain couldn’t be happier to have him in their home. It turns out that Arthur’s friend was really fast in finding people who wanted to buy the flat, and he sold it to a rich college student after Ritsuka had taken all of his belongings, including the dog, Levar. The second the dog entered the apartment, he glued himself onto Gawain, and Gawain glued himself to Levar. In fact, he was out taking the dog for a walk now.

But Mash wasn’t thinking about that now.

Mash shifted where she sat, afraid to bring up a topic of conversation at a hard time like this. She hoped that he wouldn’t get mad or turn her away.

“Umm, Senpai? Can I ask you a question?” She asked, making Ritsuka turn and look at her curiously.

“Sure, what’s up?” Mash played with her fingers before she mustered up the courage to speak.

“Your birthday is in two days. Is there anywhere you want to go or anything you want to do?” Mash didn’t ask if he ‘wanted anything’ because she knew he would say that he wanted Olga to celebrate with him. Silence fell over the living room, making anxiety bubble in Mash’s stomach. Lancelot was worried at the question too, shutting his book and looking between the two of them.

“Mash...maybe now isn’t the best time…” He said quietly, but Ritsuka shook his head, smiling fondly at Lancelot.

“Yeah, actually. Can we go to the aquarium?” Ritsuka said. Mash blinked in shock, her resolve coming back to her all at once.

“Yes! Of course! What about cake? What kind of cake do you like?” Mash leaned forward now, wanting to make sure his birthday was special for him even through a rough time like this. Ritsuka was surprised, but he thought anyway.

“Chocolate is good. A chocolate cake with chocolate icing.” Mash nodded vigorously, so much that Ritsuka thought her head was going to come off. He may have thought she was thinking of him a little too much, but she just wanted him to be happy. Mash knew that even though during the day yesterday, and even now, he was smiling...Ritsuka was really upset and he was having a hard time getting over Olga’s death. She had meant the world to him as someone who was like his sister; to lose her so suddenly...Mash couldn’t even begin to imagine the amount of suffering he was going through. Like, while Mash was going to get water before she went to sleep last night, she’d seen Ritsuka sitting on the patio wiping his eyes and crying softly. She wanted to help him, but she knew that after someone dies it was better to leave their relatives alone so that they could let their feelings out before you went to them for comfort. Mash didn’t want anything more than to never see him that way again, so she began to plan. Who would Ritsuka be the happiest seeing on his birthday? Her, Lancelot, Gawain, Tristan, and Arthur right? She could decorate the apartment and throw a small little surprise party for him after they came back from the aquarium! She could bake and decorate the cake herself too! Mash decided that after she was done studying with Ritsuka, she would go buy decorations and stop by Arthur’s bar while he was on break to invite him to the party. It’s not like he would say no, Arthur really liked Ritsuka, and Gawain and Lancelot would be more than happy to throw him a birthday party.

Just he wait, Ritsuka’s birthday was going to be the best day of his life.


	7. Saturday Evening/Night

**evening.**

Merlin didn’t expect the “new” human Ishtar told him about to live so close to Ozymandias and Gilgamesh. He was told he lived close to them…

But he didn’t think it was “the-apartment-directly-above-them” close.

How did Merlin know that the newly moved human lived that close to their apartment, you may ask? Because Merlin didn’t see an “apartment for sale” sign in front of Gilgamesh and Ozymandias’s apartment complex anymore.

He was also breaking into their apartment.

You see, Merlin was hungry. Actually, Merlin was _always_ hungry. Such were the ways of a vampire, after all. But in all seriousness, the blood supply in his own apartment was running very low, not enough to satisfy him and his roommate at all. Not to mention he really didn’t feel like going all the way to the doctor’s office to get blood from Ereshkigal like he and the others always did, even though the doctor’s office was like a block away from the floral company he worked at. So Merlin, being the great friend he was, decided that instead of taking whatever blood was left in his own apartment fridge to feed himself and leaving his roommate to starve, he was going to snack on whatever Gilgamesh and Ozymandias _just_ refilled their fridge with.

Thus explaining what Merlin was doing.

He waltzed into their apartment, opened their fridge, and raided their blood supply. What were they gonna do? Ask him to pay for it? As if they needed any money! Gilgamesh was the manager of Capture Co., a world-famous corporation that brought in textiles and foreign goods into the city, and Ozymandias was the boss of the bank that was ranked best in the city by Hans C. Anderson himself.

Merlin needed _them_ to pay _him_ money.

As he picked one of the blood pouches in their fridge, Merlin sighed, wondering why a rich couple like them would live in an apartment in the first place. Ozymandias and Gilgamesh said it was to ‘divert attention and suspicion’, but they were already attention-grabbing and suspicious enough! Honestly...

When was the last time somebody had asked them if they wore colored contacts?!

Apparently not soon enough since they both still insisted on living in an apartment!

Merlin flopped onto the couch, letting his fangs slide down so that he could gently bite into the blood pouch and feed himself. He sighed in relief, tilting his head back as the metallic taste filled his mouth and scratched at the hungry itch that had been bothering him all day. Merlin was going to have to refill the blood in his apartment soon, he was worried about his roommate and what would happen if there wasn’t enough blood to feed him. Merlin was good with outlasting his hunger, so were Ozymandias and Ereshkigal, but between Ishtar, Gilgamesh, and his roommate...Merlin couldn’t decide which one of them would be the worst if they were driven to that point. The news was already bad enough for the cops to arrest anyone in their nest if their nature was found out. They all knew that the murders were due to another nest of vampires that had decided to pay the city a visit, but they just didn’t know how the hell they randomly spotted their prey throughout the city and still weren’t able to get caught. By the police _and_ Merlin’s nest. They’ve been trying to look around the city all week to see if they could find anyone, anything, or anyplace suspicious enough to hold a nest of at least four, but those damn intruders were really good at this game of hide-n-seek.

Merlin didn’t even realize he finished the blood pouch in his mouth and was idly playing with it, licking at where the holes from his fangs were so that he didn’t waste any drops that may have still been inside.

Satisfied for the time being, Merlin stood, throwing away the empty blood pouch before he decided it was time to leave. After all, it would be bad news if Gilgamesh and Ozymandias suddenly walked into their apartment to see Merlin had raided their fridge. Once he made sure he erased all evidence of being at their apartment, Merlin left, closing the apartment door behind him. He made sure his fangs were gone before he turned on his heel and began walking down the stairs, only to come face to face with a human he hadn’t seen around the complex before: the “new” human Ishtar was talking about.

Suddenly, it was like Merlin hadn’t just drank a whole blood pouch and the itch of huger started pestering him all over again.

“Oh, hi. I’m Roman, I just moved into the apartment on the next floor.” The man smiled at him politely, his hand extended for Merlin to shake his hand.

“Merlin. I’m a friend of the banker that lives on this floor.” Merlin shook his hand and almost recoiled in shock at how hot the guy’s hand was had it not been for the fact that Merlin was so practiced in physical self-restraint.

Emotional self-restraint was a whole different story, though.

While Roman talked about himself and made himself known to Merlin and why he was going to his apartment (he forgot his dinner in his microwave), all Merlin could think about was how absolutely _good_ Roman looked. From his pale face to his shoulders, to his small waist and slim legs all covered by his doctor’s coat, Merlin could admit it was a little hard keeping his fangs up. Roman seemed to feel the weight of his stare too since he trailed off in his words.

“Is there something on my face or something? I could’ve sworn I wiped all the Dorito dust off.” Roman laughed, a nervous hint of pink spreading over his cheeks. Merlin smirked down at him.

“Just the blush, but you can’t help looking so delicious.” Merlin murmured. Roman’s eyes widened slightly and his blush deepened as he looked off to the side. If God wasn’t letting him into heaven before, he definitely wasn’t sending Merlin there now with how he was thinking of slamming Roman against the wall and tasting him all over. He would make the prettiest noises and--

“Oh, Merlin. What are you doing here?” Ozymandias’s voice yanked Merlin out of his thoughts and caused Roman to turn around in surprise. Gilgamesh was with him too, and all it took was one look for both of them to understand what was going on.

“I’m hungry, and I couldn’t find either of you here so I was going to see if I could go to Ishtar’s place and get food. Going out to eat was what we planned on, remember?” Merlin half-truthed, giving them a knowing look.

“I thought I told you that if you were going to come here, you had to call us first?” Gilgamesh hissed, pushing past Roman to grab Merlin’s arm and tugging him towards the apartment before he pulled out his keys. “Arthur’s sick, so we canceled the plan. Since you can’t cook to save your life, just come and eat here.” He swung open the door before shoving Merlin back inside the apartment and slamming the door behind him, faking the act of going to the kitchen and preparing food for the sake of the fact that Roman’s gaze had followed them.

“What were you thinking? Do you _want_ to get framed?” Gilgamesh said under his breath. Even from the living room, Merlin could hear him perfectly.

“No, but I haven’t felt like this in a long time.” Merlin lounged on the sofa with a satisfied smile, letting his fangs drop again because they ached so much. He knew the difference between fangs aching because of hunger and fangs aching out of lust all too well.

Roman was the one.

**night.**

“Find anyone you like yet?” Mordred looked over at Shuten, who was scanning the dark city eagerly for her own share of good prey.

“Give her a chance to pick, Mo. It’s not like she’s choosing the first human she sees and sucking them dry like what you did to that woman last night.” Yan Qing said, not looking up from his iPhone game to speak. Diarmuid had a sour look at that.

“Couldn’t you be a little more subtle last night? Breaking her arms and legs were completely unnecessary, and now the situation’s made the newspapers.” He said.

“Says the man that charmed a woman into sleeping with him so that he could fill up the tank.” Cu stated. Medb smiled slightly at that.

“It doesn’t matter how you’re eating. It’s the thrill of it all that makes it taste good.” Medb said. Shuten caught a glimpse of someone walking out of the super-market, in the direction of the bar. They looked decently sized, and they were carrying a bag of decor. Shuten let her fangs drop, waiting for her prey to reach a dark spot before the bar.

Then she attacked.


	8. Saturday Night (continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can’t have a vampire au without a bunch of tension now can ya?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that Arthur rips off clothes and this is where my thoughts get me smh

**dusk.**

“Wow, you really know how to make a good drink.” A man sitting at the bar said, tasting his Bloody Mary again as Arthur cleaned up the counter and prepared to make the next drink just as his co-worker, Rama, came out from the back room with a crate of beer and a crate of gin.

“Comes with practice, trust me. You should’ve seen me when I first started working here.” Arthur joked with a small smile.

“Yeah, his drinks were so bad you would think that a drunk monkey could do better.” Rama said with a small smile as he started to place the bottles on the shelf under the bar. “But he’s a superstar drink maker now. Makes me proud.” Arthur laughed lightly at that before he looked at a couple of college girls that were staring at him from behind the bar.

“Hello ladies, what can I get for you two tonight?” He asked them, getting a cup of ice ready.

“I’m actually not so sure...what would you recommend?” One of them shouted over the loud bass of the music and the loud combination of hoots and howls on the dancefloor. Arthur could hear her perfectly without her needing to shout, and he wanted to tell her too; but hearing someone at a talking volume over this kind of music wasn’t human, and as far as everyone in the bar knew: he was human.

“I personally like the margarita. It’s a fan favorite here too.” He answered casually as he handed them a menu and pointed to the drink. “Right here on the menu.” The other girl leaned toward her friend to talk in her ear.

“What’s up with his eyes? They’re kinda hot.” Arthur immediately turned around to help Rama with unloading the beer from the crates to the shelves. The less attention to how abnormal he was, the more normal he looked. Arthur could tell they were leaning and twisting in order to see his eyes, but he had to act human or else his whole nest was screwed. He took the empty cup and his tip from where the man had finished his Bloody Mary before dried off his hands on a towel. He turned to the two girls again, making them jump and look away. Arthur smiled at them, pretending as though nothing was out of the ordinary even though his thirst was really bothering him tonight.

“How about it?” He asked politely. “Have you made up your mind on what you’re going to drink?”

“I’ve made up my mind on how I’m going to take you tonight.” The girl that pointed out his eyes muttered quietly.

Okay then. Margarita it is.

Arthur pretended not to hear what the girl said and turned to make a sample margarita for the two girls before he served them, wanting to finish things up with them quickly. Rama did him a favor and struck up a conversation with the two as he began to clean all the dirty cups in the sink and put them on the drying rack. He wiped down the counter one last time for good measure before he sighed and put all the tips that were stuffed in his pocket in his bag.

It was right about then that he felt something was up.

It was a bad feeling in his gut that made him stand up before scanning the whole place for anyone that could be out of the ordinary. Arthur knew better than to ignore his intuition, since every time he had a bad feeling it turned out something bad actually happened. He couldn’t see anyone or anything out of place, but the feeling kept him from relaxing so Arthur decided to look outside. He grabbed his phone from his bag, put his jacket on, and tapped Rama’s shoulder.

“What’s up?” Rama turned, obviously in a good mood at how business was thriving tonight. “Wanna go on break?” Arthur was glad that Rama knew what he wanted before he could ask for it.

“Yeah.” Arthur said with a smile as he waved. “See you in half an hour.” He walked out from behind the bar and quickly made his way to the back exit, the bad feeling in his gut getting a little more intense. When he walked out into the night, he looked both ways before he hurried out to the front, putting on his hood to cover his appearance. Arthur could only see one person, a short woman with short and dark purple hair, before he saw the other person, a girl lying limply on the ground with a worrying amount of blood covering her and the sidewalk. Arthur recognized the injured girl immediately.

_Mash._

Arthur’s body moved on its own, barreling into the woman hurting Mash with a force that sent the woman flying across the street, witnesses be damned. The woman looked unfazed at how Arthur shoved her across the street, and she was the only one around to leave Mash in a pool of her own blood, it could only mean one thing…

That woman was a vampire.

Arthur looked up at the woman with narrowed eyes, making sure he got a good look at her so that he could describe her to the others. The woman smiled mischievously and licked her lips before she bounded up onto the rooftops and zoomed away. Arthur shot up onto his feet, wanting to chase after her, but he stopped himself when he realized that Mash was still hurt. He knelt down immediately, checking for how badly Mash was hurt. The amount of blood was dizzying, and Arthur could feel his fangs involuntarily sliding down at the smell of it. Arthur swore under his breath. She had multiple claw scratches on her front and a huge bite mark on her neck, but her heart was still beating; he could hear it. The blood was already there, so it wouldn’t really hurt Arthur to take a little bit, right? Just one bite…

_No! Snap out of it! You’re better than this!_

Arthur grit his teeth and picked Mash up, holding her close before he rushed to take her to the doctor’s office behind the bar. He yanked the door open, spotting Ereshkigal at the computer immediately.

“We need a doctor, like now.” Arthur said urgently, making Ereshkigal look up from what she was doing. She stood up, her eyes wide at the injured Mash in his arms before she hurried and lead him to a room.

“Roman, Nightingale! We have an emergency!” She called as she passed the prep room. Ereshkigal looked at him. “Did you--?” She started to ask quietly.

“No, I found her like this. I saw one from their nest too.” He cut her off as Ereshkigal let him place Mash on the bed of a room labeled “critical condition” before a man and woman, who Ereshkigal called, hurried in, their eyes widening at how Mash looked.

“What the hell happened?” Roman asked, immediately pulling out a bottle of ointment to disinfect the wounds. Nightingale took off Mash’s shirt quickly, picking up a washcloth and dampening it with soapy water to clean up the blood around the lacerations on her stomach.

“The killer from the newspaper. They got to her.” Arthur stated quickly, forgetting that his fangs were still in plain view. Thankfully, Nightingale and Roman didn’t notice because they were too focused on cleaning up Mash’s wounds. Mash flinched weakly at the pain, making Ereshkigal pull out a needle of morphine.

“Okay, here we go…” Ereshkigal murmured as she injected the painkiller into Mash. When she glanced up at Arthur, she could see how on edge he was. “Arthur, go clean yourself up and get yourself calmed down. We’ll take care of her here. Once you get situated, call her parents.” Arthur nodded grimly before he left, walking into the storage room before he ripped off his bloodied jacket, claws tearing through his jacket to the white shirt underneath. The smell of blood was suffocating him...and his thirst was becoming unbearable, causing his breathing to come out rougher than before.

_Calm down! Calm yourself, dammit!_

He quickly walked to the minifridge in the corner of the storage room and opened it, grabbing one of the big blood pouches before ravaging it, fangs tearing large holes in the pouch and nearly bursting it open. Arthur felt like he was being doused with cold water. The taste of the thick fluid quieted his thirst immediately, and he cursed himself for not feeding himself before he left the apartment like Ozymandias warned him to. Once he sucked all the blood out of the pouch, Arthur ran a hand through his hair and forced himself to take steadying breaths. He threw away the empty pouch after he calmed down and looked down in dismay at his shredded shirt before his gaze went to his ruined jacket on the floor before he sighed. He took off his shirt before he grabbed the shirt Gilgamesh kept in the room and put it on. Gil wouldn’t be _that_ mad if Arthur explained well enough why he used it. Arthur hid his fangs again and made sure he looked somewhat normal before he took out his phone, dreading the news he had to tell Lancelot. He dialed the number and put the phone up to his ear. Lancelot answered immediately, sounding distressed and worried as all hell.

“Arthur? Thank goodness you called. Mash still hasn’t come home yet and we’re all worried sick about her. I mean, we called the police and everything, but it’s been two hours...” Arthur took a deep breath before he spoke.

“Lance, I’ve got bad news.”

**night.**

Ritsuka practically ran into the doctor’s office when Lancelot parked in front of it, swinging the door open and almost tripping as he stumbled into the waiting room. He wasn’t the only one in the office. There was Merlin, who was Arthur’s roommate, the banker that helped Gawain with the money Ritsuka got from the flat, and two people Ritsuka didn’t recognize: a man with blonde hair and a woman with brown twig tails. Arthur was leaning against the wall by the check-in desk, a serious look on his face.

“Where is she?” He asked frantically, Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristan followed him in quickly.

“Calm down, she’s still being treated.” The girl he didn’t recognize said. “That doctor is way better at his job than I thought.”

“Arthur, I have to go see her. Please.” Lancelot begged. Arthur shook his head, instead guiding him to sit down.

“They’re still working on helping her. You can’t disturb them.” He said, moving so that Gawain could sit down and pat Lancelot’s back as he buried his face with his hands.

“She said she was just going out to buy things...I should’ve gone with her.” He said.

“Then both of you would’ve gotten hurt.” The blonde man said. “It’s a good thing Arthur got there in time. It could’ve ended up so much worse.”

“Gilgamesh, you aren’t helping.” The banker hissed, nudging the man’s side. The man shrugged, crossing his arms before looking at Arthur and narrowing his eyes.

“Is that my shirt?” He asked. Arthur facepalmed, shaking his head.

“I’ll explain later, just forget about it.” Ritsuka finally spoke, a rough edge to his voice.

“What,” He started before clearing his throat when his voice came out raspy. “The _fuck_ happened?” Ritsuka looked at Arthur with a demanding look while ignoring the disproving look he got from Gawain for his language.

“I was on break at the bar and was going to go pay Merlin a visit at our apartment, but I found her being attacked in front of the bar. That’s when I stepped in and brought her here.” Arthur explained, his eyes boring into his own.

Ritsuka couldn’t bring himself to believe him.

Even though he was Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan’s great friend, Ritsuka refused to believe that was the whole story behind it all.

“Arthur isn’t a very good liar, so don’t look like you’re having a hard time believing him.” Merlin said, giving him a sideways look.

“I’m having a hard time believing this entire situation is happening in general, Merlin.” Ritsuka stated bitterly before Ereshkigal, the nice receptionist at the office, walked tiredly from the backroom. She was covered in blood and she looked a little distressed as she looked at everyone. Ritsuka found himself holding his breath as he prayed that he wasn’t about to hear bad news.

“She’ll be okay. Roman and Nightingale are bandaging her up now, and she’s going to be asleep while she gets a blood transfusion to make up for the blood she’s lost.” He sighed in relief and swallowed around the lump forming in his throat as Tristan rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. Lancelot covered his face with his hand as relieved tears slipped out of his eyes, and Gawain wore an elated look.

“How are you holding up? You spent all that time with them to help even though you’re just a receptionist.” The girl said, smiling slightly at her. Ereshkigal shook her head and rubbed her temples.

“A breath of fresh air would be nice, Ishtar. Can you come with me?” Ishtar laughed lightly and nodded.

“Why don’t we go too? To relax the tension a bit.” Merlin suggested, looking at Arthur, who nodded. Merlin tilted his chair back so that he was looking at the banker and Gilgamesh. “What about you and Ozymandias, Gilgamesh? We could leave Lancelot and his family to have their privacy.” The two nodded and stood up, Ozymandias wrapping his arm around Gilgamesh’s waist before they all left with Ereshkigal and Ishtar through the _back_ entrance.

With that, Ritsuka decided that the entire group wasn’t normal.

At all.

So of course he was going to investigate.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” Ritsuka muttered before he walked to the bathroom, which was hidden from the lobby. He then crept through the office quietly, looking around every room to see that the place was sterile and clean. It didn’t make sense though. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen that group in the doctor’s office, and half the time it seemed like they were just paying a visit. What had all of those times had in common? It ranged from just one of them visiting to all of them visiting at once, but there wasn’t a connection!

Or was there?

They all came out with lunchboxes from the back of the office, didn’t they? And they never walked _in_ with those lunchboxes either. Nightingale, the doctor that helped him through a really bad fever, would get really annoyed pretty fast if six people went and grabbed their food from the prep room. That and it was too obvious, too out in the open, and other people would question them really fast. So a storage room or janitor’s closet would probably be his best bet. He turned the corner before looking for one of the two and was lucky to find the storage room first. Ritsuka was sure to be quiet, since Roman and Nightingale’s voices were in earshot, before he slid into the storage room. He looked around to see six lunch boxes neatly lined up on a shelf.

Bingo.

Ritsuka hurried to the shelf, testing to see if any of the lunch boxes had something in them. Empty, empty, empty...full! Triumphant, Ritsuka grabbed the lunchbox and opened it, hoping that they weren’t smuggling anything illegal, only to be completely caught off guard.

_Blood bags…?_

Ritsuka was confused, of all things. Were they all deficient in things in their blood? Like how Tristan had iron deficiency anemia? He put the lunchbox back and looked around more. A minifridge sat in the corner of the room, he opened it.

_More blood bags._

Ritsuka spotted a torn shirt and a jacket that looked to be ripped in half.

That was Arthur’s jacket.

He noticed an empty blood bag on the floor and he picked it up. If they needed blood in their system, then they would need it in the form of an IV, right? When Ritsuka examined the bag, there were two parallel slice marks that punctured the bag.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

Ritsuka thought it was all fiction, but the evidence all added up. They all had glowing eyes that only existed in animals using a part of the eye called _tapetum lucidum_ . They all spoke in double entendres so that they sounded normal to humans but had a hidden meaning to their own group. They all _drank blood_ for fuck’s sake. That’s why Ishtar was worried about Ereskigal and not Nightingale and Roman; because they didn’t want her losing her cool and having Mash for dinner. He wasn’t stupid.

Ritsuka had his “Twilight phase” before, and it all made sense.

Arthur was probably the one who attacked Mash, and was pretending to be innocent! His family’s most trusted friend! His heartbeat was in his ears, and his breath was coming out in short and hollow breaths.

Ritsuka wanted to vomit.

He left the storage room quickly, making his way back to the waiting room until he froze when he heard their voices coming in again. Ritsuka jogged back quickly and sat down, bouncing his foot up and down anxiously as he heard the others walk into the waiting room.

“Are you feeling alright, Ritsuka? You look pale.” Tristan said, putting his hand comfortingly on his shoulder. He nodded before smiling slightly at him.

“Just worried about Mash still. She wanted to spend my birthday with me tomorrow at the aquarium but looks like I’ll be spending the night _and_ my birthday here.”

“And that’s okay, there’s no safer place to spend your birthday than here.” Ereshkigal said softly. Even though he had every reason not to...

Ritsuka found himself believing her.

**midnight.**

“You _what?_ ” Diarmuid hissed, clenching his jaw.

“I got caught while I was having a petite little snack.” Shuten repeated, shrugging. “I don’t care now, though, I got my fill.”

“Who caught you?” Mordred asked. “You probably could have killed them.”

“Especially you, Shuten. There’s no way you didn’t drink them too.” Yan Qing added, crossing his arms.

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Shuten pouted, tapping her chin. “I think there may be another nest here.” Medb looked over at her curiously.

“Another nest of vampires? What makes you say that?” She asked.

“The man who caught me had our eyes and he was able to push me away from the girl I was going to kill. No human can do that.”

“Great. So now we’re in the paper _and_ another nest of vampires know that we’re here. Nice going, Medb.” Cu said. Medb smiled triumphantly.

“Nice going indeed. Now we can say it wasn’t us that killed all of the people.” She said.

“What do you mean?” Diarmuid asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“I mean, we can make it look like they’re the ones who’re causing the murders in the paper.” Medb said. Yan Qing grinned widely, his yellow eyes and fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

  
“I like the way you think, princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ereshkigal is best girl anyone who argues can catch these hands


	9. Sunday Morning

**dawn.**

Gilgamesh huffed impatiently, looking at Arthur for the fifth time that night. He and the rest of his nest were the only ones awake since all of the adults related to the boy called in sick to their jobs to take care of the girl, so this gave them the perfect chance to talk.

“Do you want to explain why you’re wearing my shirt now, Arthur?” He asked, annoyed.

“Gil, right now seriously isn’t the time to talk about this. Let’s just say that it was an emergency.” Arthur stated. Gilgamesh shook his head firmly.

“I don’t care. I liked that shirt, and now you’ve stretched it out.”

“He was already thirsty at the bar and he had to carry a bloody person here. Cut him the slack, Gilgamesh.” Ereshkigal said in a hushed voice.

“You could’ve just taken off your jacket.” Gilgamesh huffed.

“I tore it off and sliced up my shirt in the process.” Arthur said flatly. “If you don’t believe me, they’re both still in the storage room along with the wrapper of a huge blood pack I practically inhaled.”

“Jeez.” Ishtar muttered. “Self-restraint isn’t expensive, you know.”

“Why didn’t you have anything before you left? I left you the last few blood packs in the fridge.” Merlin asked him. Ozymandias chuckled from next to Gilgamesh, making him slide his hand onto his lap.

“I told you didn’t I? After Merlin here almost completely blew our cover to sleep with the doctor.” He said.

“So in the end, we’re all making mistakes,” Gilgamesh said, looking around seriously at all of them. “And we can’t keep making them.” They were all quiet before all of their gazes snapped to the opening of the waiting room.

“Ar...thur?” It was the boy.

“Good morning, Ritsuka.” Arthur said. Gilgamesh could tell they were all thinking the same thing.

How much did he hear?

“You’re all awake?” The boy asked. Arthur smiled at him comfortingly.

“Yeah, we all wake up early. Is there something you need?” He asked. The boy nodded and walked into the waiting room before sitting down.

“There’s not really another time for me to talk, so I’ll make this quick before Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan wake up.” The boy paused before he looked around with a serious look.

“You all need to cut the crap and tell me what’s going on.”

It was silent before Merlin laughed, beaming at Ritsuka.

“What do you mean? Mash got hurt and she’s recovering now.” He said. “You should get some more sleep Ritsuka. You’re not thinking straight.”

“I know everything.” Ritsuka stated, making Gilgamesh narrow his eyes. “I saw what you guys keep in your lunchboxes and that mini-fridge.”

“What if we need it for medical reasons?” Ozymandias tried.

“Then it would be used as an IV drip. The bag wouldn’t be cut open.” Ritsuka said before holding up the wrapper Arthur was talking about and pointed to the punctures in the bag, making him swear under his breath. Gilgamesh had to hand it to him.

The boy was smart.

“How long have you known?” Arthur asked.

“Since Ereshkigal went out for her breath of fresh air.” Ritsuka paused. “Or a quick snack, rather. Did a little snooping around, and turned up with the explanation to a ton of things.”

“So what are you going to do?” Ishar stood, walked to where he was standing, and looked down at him. “Now that you know?”

“Ishtar, take it easy.” Merlin said.

“I’m gonna ask, and you’re going to answer with the truth. In return, I won’t tell a single soul what I know, not even Mash.” Gilgamesh glanced around at everyone before they all nodded. It was a fair deal. Ritsuka paused before he inhaled and spoke, tears in his eyes. “Are you the ones who killed my sister and attacked Mash?” That was a surprise. Gilgamesh expected ‘are you going to kill me now that I know’ kind of question.

“No!” Ereshkigal got up and sat next to him, rubbing his back comfortingly. “Oh no, Ritsuka, we wouldn’t! There wouldn’t be a point in using blood bags if we went around eating like that. It’s the opposite, we’re the ones trying to keep the new nest of vampires from killing people. In fact, Arthur’s already tracking down the one he saw hurting Mash.” Ritsuka visibly sighed in relief, burying his face in his hands and sobbing quietly as Ereshkigal hugged him.

“I’m glad. So then this place really is the safest place to be.”

**morning.**

“Yeah, I gotcha. Thanks for letting us know. We’ll wait for your call when she wakes up again.” Arash hung up with a relieved sigh.

“Well?” Moriarity asked, curious about the situation.

“They found the girl and the new doctor in the doctor’s office patched her up.” Arash was glad that he didn’t have to pull up his car to another bloody crime scene. Sherlock looked happy about the news too.

“That’s good. That girl doesn’t have to be bothered by this anymore now that she’s safe.” Sherlock said. Moriarity quirked an eyebrow at him.

“You act like she’s completely cut out of the case.” He said.

“She’s a teenager, she’s too young to be a part of all of this.” Sherlock retorted.

“She’s a living witness. Maybe this can give us a step in the right direction.” Arash looked back in forth between the two, watching the little squabble in awe. After about two minutes of the both of them arguing back and forth before Sherlock sighed.

“Fine. When they call back we’ll go and interrogate everyone, but you owe me a drink if this is a waste of time.”


	10. Sunday Morning (continued)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t believe how soft I made Merlin omg he’s such a dick but I love him

**morning.**

Roman knocked on Mash’s room door before opening the door and walking in with a smile.

“Good morning, Mash. I’m glad to see you awake after taking a hard hit last night.” He said, helping her sit up. “I’m Dr. Roman, I’m going to be the one helping you get back on your feet.” Mash nodded.

“Thank you…” She said quietly as he read through his notes on what he needed to check for. “Doctor, is my dad okay? He must’ve been worried sick. Gawain and Tristan and Senpai too…” Roman chuckled as he put on a pair of gloves.

“Worried sick is an understatement. I could hear them begging to come and see you in the lobby from this room.” He said before he put on his stethoscope and listened to her heartbeat.

_Ba-dump...ba-dump..._ _ba...dump...ba-dump._

Her heartbeat was a lot stronger than last night, though it still wasn’t completely normal. Roman didn’t even know how she survived with such a weak heartbeat last night; it was practically nonexistent. He beamed at her comfortingly, pulling his stethoscope away and putting it around his neck again.

“Your heartbeat is so much better than last night’s. Great job hanging in there.” Mash smiled back before Roman moved to her neck. “I’ll change your bandages and put your arm in a cast so that I can let your family see you, okay?” She nodded, and Roman began to take off the bandage on her neck with gentle hands. Roman wasn’t really sure what caused a bite like this, but he was a doctor, not a detective. He checked the bite for diseases and rabies just in case it was an animal and let Nightingale and Ereshkigal check to see if it was a man that got to her, but there wasn’t any of that, which was excellent news. For all Roman knew, the killer could just get off on biting people. As long as it was just a simple bite that wouldn’t hurt Mash through disease, Roman was happy. Roman placed a new bandage on her bite and patted it down gently before he grabbed a roll of bandages for the cuts on her front. He paused before he looked at her.

“Are you comfortable with me changing the bandages on your front, or do you want me to call Nightingale?” He asked. A person in recovery should always be comfortable or else their heart rate will go up, and the worst thing that Mash could do at the moment was have a high heart rate. It would accelerate her blood flow and start the bleeding in her wounds again, and Nightingale and Ereshkigal had barely managed to stop the bleeding last night. Mash shrugged, looking off to the side.

“I wouldn’t mind if you did it, but if she’s available then I’d like her to do it.” She said politely. Roman nodded in understanding.

“I’ll put the cast on your arm first and go call her, then.” He said, grabbing his materials before sitting down next to her left arm. A broken arm must have happened if she was grabbed violently or shoved to the ground, which was understandable if someone was trying to brutally kill her. Roman gently held her hand as he took off the splint and wrapped her arm in a new bandage. “What grade are you in, Mash?”

“11th.” She replied.

“Really? Must be nice, just a year until you graduate.” Mash nodded. “Do you know what you want to study yet?” Mash shook her head, making him smile. “That’s okay. I didn’t know I wanted to be a doctor until my second year of college. My best friend at my old city made fun of me for it.” Mash was silent for a second before she spoke.

“Why did you move to this city, doctor?” She asked quietly as Roman picked up the plaster and prepared to wrap it up her arm.

“I got the job here. This city needed a doctor, and it wouldn’t be good if it stayed without a doctor for long, would it?” He answered as he began to wrap the plaster. Each new layer has to overlap the previous layer by about fifty percent to make a double layer without holes or else everything under the cast will shift around.

“I guess not.” She said. “Have you ever dealt with injuries like these before?”

“A bite is simple to take care of as long as there aren’t any diseases from whatever bit you.” Roman said honestly. “Broken bones I’ve dealt with plenty of times, but as for lacerations this deep...I’ve only had a couple of those. I know how to take care of and heal them, though. As a doctor, you have to be prepared for any type of injury.” Mash nodded as he finished up wrapping the plaster. Roman patted the cast dry with a towel before he puffed his chest proudly at his work and stood. He cleaned up the mess around them before he smiled at Mash. “I’ll go get Nightingale to rewrap your stomach, then we’ll let your family see you.” She nodded before he waved and left. He walked out to the front desk and sighed tiredly, and Ereshkigal smiled at him with a wave.

“Is she doing alright?” Nightingale asked as she looked at him from the waiting room. 

“Yeah, she’s awake. I reapplied the bandage on her neck and put her in a full arm cast. She just wants you to rewrap the bandages around her stomach. Then we can let her family check up on her.” Roman picked up the cup of coffee that he’d made earlier as Nightingale went to go help Mash. Roman walked out into the waiting room and set his cup of coffee on a table with brochures on them before sitting down and yawning.

“You’re not going to sleep? You spent all night helping Mash.” Mash’s friend said.

“It’ll throw off my sleep schedule.” He replied, shaking his head. “I’ll just wait the day out and have the best night’s sleep tonight.” That’s when Merlin plopped himself right into the seat next to him, making Roman tense up sharply. It was the same feeling he had when he tried to take his nap the day he moved in. The feeling of being watched, the feeling of somebody eavesdropping on a private conversation, the feeling of forgetting something…but he hadn’t forgotten about what happened yesterday when he went to go grab his dinner. Oh no, he spent the two hours he had before Mash was rushed into the office telling DaVinci the whole story over the phone. He was sitting in the prep room while Nightingale was with a patient for their check-up and Ereshkigal was on her break, whispering into the phone about everything that happened.

_  
“He said I looked delicious DaVinci! Who the hell says that?! We just met!” _

_“Oh my God, Romani, he’s totally into you! What did you say?” She didn’t seem to be freaked out or worried at all, just super excited that Roman was finally getting somewhere with his love life._

_“I was too freaked out to say something, but even if I wasn’t Ozymandias and his friend showed up and told him to have dinner in their apartment.”_

_“And? This is your chance to spice it up a bit! You said that you’re into him too aren’t you?” That had Romani almost choking on the soda he was drinking. When did she figure it out? Did he say it while he was talking about how weird the guy was?_

_“What?! When did I say that?!” DaVinci cackled on the other side._

_“You didn’t, but now I know you are into him! Oh, this is great! You just moved into a city and you’re crush likes you back! You’re like the luckiest person alive to have something like that happen. You should go and talk to him. What’s the worst he’s gonna do?”_

DaVinci didn’t get it.

The way Merlin looked at him with those lavender eyes of his had Roman’s engine going. Merlin _really_ looked hungry. Roman couldn’t tell if it was hot or worrying, but his mind was really leaning towards the former.

No it wasn’t.

Roman didn’t have time for thinking like this. He had a job to do as a doctor.

“You won’t be able to think if you’re tired all day.” Merlin told him. “It won’t be good if a patient walks in and you’re yawning.”

“Oh, shut up. I know how to work after a twenty-four hour shift.” Roman muttered.

“He’s right, you know.” Ereshkigal said. “Why don’t you take this as a chance to go to your apartment and take a nap? Nightingale and I will make sure everything is going smoothly here.” Roman hesitated for a second before he nodded, standing and walking to the door before he noticed it was _pouring_ outside. He put on his jacket before he looked for his umbrella on the umbrella rack, but it wasn’t there. Roman must’ve left it at his apartment after that whole incident with Merlin. He swore quietly and looked over at Ereshkigal with an apologetic look.

“Sorry, do you mind if I borrow your umbrella? I think I forgot mine at home.” Merlin stood up and smiled playfully at him.

“Here, I’ll walk you there since I have to get something from Ozymandias anyway.”

Roman wasn’t stupid, oh no. He wasn’t about to fall for this cliche-ass scene from a movie.

“Besides, Ereshkigal is going to walk to the book shop in a little bit. You don’t want her to get sick, do you?” He was right. It would be a nightmare at the office if Ereshkigal got sick, since she was so organized and kept together, and Roman and Nightingale were not.

“Whatever.” Roman huffed. Merlin brightened and he opened his umbrella in a swift motion.

“Don’t take too long.” Ereshkigal called. Roman walked out with Merlin, completely dry under the umbrella Merlin held steady over their heads. They walked in a comfortable silence for five minutes until Merlin spoke.

“Surely that wasn’t the first time you’ve had a patient be rushed into your office needing intensive care.” Roman shook his head.

“It's happened a ton of times.” He said, keeping his gaze in front of him. “But it’s the first time I’ve seen injuries as bad as that on a girl still in highschool.”

“Does it scare you? Knowing that something in this city is going around and hurting people like that?” Merlin asked. Roman thought for a little bit before he answered.

“It’s worrying, but it doesn’t scare me.” He answered. “The worst thing I can do as a doctor is to not be level headed.” Roman paused before mumbling. “I feel safe when I’m at the office too, so I don’t feel that I can get hurt.”

“I see.” Merlin paused before Roman felt Merin look at him as they approached the apartment complex. “Did I scare you? When I met you yesterday?” Roman stopped walking to look at him, the cool rain falling onto his head. Merlin turned to look at him, completely dry still. Merlin didn’t scare him yesterday, not in the slightest. He made Roman’s stomach fill with butterflies, his knees weak, his heart race. The way the sunset hit his face just right and his eyes glowed down at him...Merlin almost didn’t look human.

He looked _beautiful_.

“No, you idiot. I was just worried if I still had cheese dust on my face.” Roman said, ignoring his feelings yet again. Merlin looked surprised at that, his eyes widening and bewilderment crossing his face. Merlin moved his umbrella so that he joined Roman in the rain and stepped closer to him...and closer...and even closer...until Merlin did something that caught Roman by surprise.

He kissed him.

Roman’s brain short-circuited, trying to form a coherent thought before defaulting to _Merlin’s lips are soft_ , and for a horrible second he realized that he wasn’t kissing him back. So he did, letting all of his denial wash away with the rain so that he could just live in the moment. Merlin’s lips were dreamy, and they tasted flowery- which Roman didn’t expect. He felt the happiness Merlin was feeling on his own lips, and Merlin felt the affection Roman felt on his. Roman felt like he was on cloud nine. He felt _right_ in Merlin’s arms when he kissed him; safe and sound like they were meant to be. Like all the stars in the sky aligned for just…them. When Merlin pulled away, he looked down at Roman with eyes that looked...relieved, almost. Happy too, _really_ happy. Like he had just heard the best news of his life.

“I didn’t scare you.” Merlin sounded like he was asking for confirmation.

“You didn’t.”

“I really didn’t scare you?”

“How many times do I have to say it? Are you deaf?” Roman hissed. Merlin laughed in delight before he hugged Roman tightly, picking him up and spinning him around happily before kissing him again.

Roman really _was_ falling for the cliche-ass movie scene.

**afternoon.**

Imagine standing up on stage, with an audience of say...five hundred thousand people, and there are national and international cameras pointed at you. Not to mention the press is there, taking notes in their small little notebooks. That makes millions of people watching your every move and making sure you don’t mess up while you’re on stage. Alone. With nobody else there to stand by you.

That’s exactly how Ritsuka felt as he walked around the doctor’s office.

The group he’d confronted earlier really must’ve wanted to keep the whole vampire thing a secret because Ritsuka couldn’t be alone with _anyone_ unless one of them was with him. Ritsuka wanted to talk to Tristan? Seems like Arthur was interested too. Ritsuka wanted to check-up on Mash since Nightingale was on her break? Ereshkigal was just as worried. Ritsuka wanted to fucking pee? Ishtar was in the room right next to the bathroom because she “left something there”. Ritsuka felt like he needed air, but when he told Gawain that he might go to school on Monday, Gilgamesh called him a “heartless bastard” for leaving Mash in a situation like this.

Ritsuka really was getting fed up with all of it.

So he waited until Mash was asleep and Gawain, Tristan, and Lancelot left to get lunch before he glared at four in the office since Merlin went to walk Roman to his apartment and grab something from Ozymandias.

“I didn’t know realizing you were vampires meant holding me hostage.” He muttered, crossing his arms.

“It’s just a precaution.” Arthur said, sounding a little apologetic.

“I swore I wouldn’t tell anyone. The last thing I want is a group of angry vampires on my case.” He said.

“Exactly. We aren’t holding you hostage. We’re just making sure your tongue doesn’t slip so that we aren’t made at you.” Ishtar said. Ritsuka gave her a sour look.

“Really? I can’t go anywhere or talk to anyone without one of you with me.” He sighed. “And besides, can’t you hear really well too? You can probably hear a conversation happening six buildings down.”

“ _Fifteen_ buildings down.” Gilgamesh corrected. Ritsuka would think it was the coolest thing in the world if it wasn’t for the fact it was being used against him.

“My school is fifteen buildings this way!” Ritsuka pointed in the direction he was referring to. “You could hear it if I told them, and who knows, maybe they’ll send me to the asylum fifteen buildings _that_ way! Then you could hear me screaming about how I swear I’m not crazy.” He pointed in the opposite direction. Arthur chuckled a bit at that.

“Ritsuka, another nest in the city means they can go around killing people and then pushing the blame on us.” Ereshkigal said. “It needs to be kept secret as much as possible.” Ritsuka was still skeptical.

“Okay, consider this vampire lesson number one: we can’t lie. We can tell half of the truth, but we can’t lie.” Ishtar said, holding up one finger. Ritsuka remembered what Merlin had told him when he couldn’t believe Arthur last night.

_“Arthur isn’t a very good liar...”_

“Huh, I guess that makes sense.” Ritsuka looked at them seriously. “In that case, tell me something. Do you guys really not like garlic?”

“Here we go with the stupid questions.” Gilgamesh huffed.

“I’m dead serious! What can’t you guys deal with? Garlic is about all I know. Even with the Twilight phase I had.” Ritsuka said.

“Why do you want to know?” Arthur asked, a cautious edge in his voice. Ritsuka narrowed his eyes.

“What of one from the other nest targets me? I should just let them kill me? No thanks.” Ritsuka paused. “That and I’m not letting the one who hurt Mash go.”

“It’s unlikely that they’ll attack you.” Ereshkigal said. “And the chances of you surviving against one of those vampires in a one on one is also very unlikely.” Ritsuka frowned before an idea hit him, and he crossed his arms with a stubborn look.

“Fine then. I’ll look it up on the internet and test everything I find out on you until I know.”

“You wouldn’t.” Ishtar said.

“Really? Jesus Christ, you must think I’m stupid.”

Their reactions ranged from obvious to hidden.

Arthur and Ereshkigal cringed, Gilgamesh’s eye twitched, and Isthar flinched visibly, making Ritsuka smile triumphantly.

“There’s one. Mentioning God’s name.” Ritsuka leaned forward in his chair. “Should I try another?”

“No, point taken.” Ereshkigal said quickly. “Let’s say you’ll learn as time goes.” Ritsuka was satisfied for the time being.

“Now, hush about this and we’ll talk again later. Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan are back.” Arthur said. Ritsuka smiled to himself as the three walked in, greeting everyone in the office and giving Ritsuka a sandwich. The vampires thought they had him on a leash, didn’t they?

Oh, how the tables have turned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays y’all, sorry this chapter was a bit late...but happy holidays anyway


	11. Sunday Night

**evening.**

Cu was bored.

He and Yan Qing were the only two that hadn’t tried any of the people in the city yet, but he was having a little trouble picking out a human that looked good enough to eat. He was currently on a stroll throughout the city, trying to see a person that would be ripe enough to enjoy. This is what usually happened when their nest moved to a new city, he would get someone he was sure would taste good _first_ and then he would go around nitpicking random people like the others did. That way he was one hundred percent sure that the first feed of the city made him want to stay and not leave.

That and he was _starved_ and wanted nothing more than a really good meal.

Mordred had attacked a woman that didn’t seem really appetizing at all, and he didn’t even _know_ what Diarmuid and Medb were thinking when they had the man and the girl that was still in school. They all looked like death was right at the door! Like, if his nest didn’t kill them then death would’ve gotten to him one way or another! And Yan Qing...well, Cu really didn’t know why Yan Qing hasn’t eaten yet. Actually Cu didn’t know why Yan Qing did half the things he did. One time, he randomly attacked a man, took two mouthfuls of blood from the guy, ripped out his heart and jugular, then said he was full. Of course Cu had to finish the guy, since he was thirsty and a drop of blood spilled was a drop of blood wasted, but damn if it wasn’t completely unnecessary. Then there was another time where Yan Qing was downright _feral_. He jumped on the first person he saw, tore them up with his claws, broke all of their bones, took their heart and jugular, and then sucked them completely dry. Cu couldn’t even tell if the person was a man or a woman because of how maimed they looked by the end of it all. Yan Qing wasn’t even that thirsty at the time! There was no need to act as though he hadn’t had a drop of blood in years, but Cu didn’t care about why Yan Qing acted that way right now.

He cared about how he was going to act the same way if he didn’t get something to eat _now_.

Cu felt like his composure was slipping, and every time he spotted a human, he would stare at them to judge if they were going to make him full or not. His fangs kept pricking his lips and the muscles in his hands were cramping since he kept fighting to keep his claws away. Cu clenched his jaw and bit the inside of his cheek as he hurried around the city. His phone rang, and when he checked who was calling, it was Yan Qing.

Speak of the devil.

“What?” Cu’s voice was strained, making Yan Qing laugh on the other side of the phone.

“Still trying to find someone good to eat?” Yan Qing sounded like he enjoyed hearing him suffer, the sadistic bastard. “Just give in, there’s no point in looking for someone good. Mordred and Diarmuid already said all the people here are good didn’t they?”

“Shut up.” Cu growled. “I’ll do what I want.”

“So be it, just come back soon because Medb doesn’t want you gone for too long.” Yan Qing informed as Cu spotted someone across the street. A young boy with red hair that looked healthy and ripe, good enough for Cu to sink his canine fangs in. Cu’s mouth watered and his fangs ached at the thought, and he found himself staring at the human to see where he was going. Just then, Cu bumped into someone, and they were able to jerk his shoulder back harshly. When he looked up at the person, time slowed as he looked at man’s features. A man with brown hair and gold eyes dressed in a classy suit that gave him an annoyed look.

“Watch it.” Cu snapped, glaring at the man before beginning to cross the street.

“You okay? What was that all about?” Yan Qing sounded curious.

“I’m gonna have to call you back. Don’t wait up for me.” Cu said before he hung up and slid his phone into his pocket. The boy he was watching walked into an alleyway and Cu glanced around quickly for anyone that might be watching before he slipped into the alleyway when the coast was clear.

The boy was completely clueless, walking and looking down at his phone without a care in the world that he was about to become Cu’s dinner.

Cu finally let his claws out and he stretched out his hands before he closed the gap in a single stride, grabbing the boy by the hair and shoving him against the wall. The boy opened his mouth to yell, but Cu jerked his head to the side sharply, snapping his neck and bearing his throat in the process. Cu opened his mouth wide and bit into the boy’s neck, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of blood. He felt some of the warm liquid slip out of the side of his mouth and run down his chin, but he didn’t care. Cu felt like the fire of thirst in his stomach was being put out with ice cold water, and it almost made the wait feel worth it. Once there wasn’t any more blood for him to drink, Cu tossed the boy harshly to the side before he wiped the mess around his mouth with the inside of his sleeve.

Then he bounded away to have three more meals before he went back to his nest.

**night.**

Moriarity seemed fairly confident that Sherlock was going to owe him another drink after they interrogated this girl and the guy who found her. Arash showed him and Sherlock the security footage of the front of the bar, and Moriarity wasn’t going to lie…

He wouldn’t have believed it if it wasn’t caught on camera.

The footage was short. It was the woman attacking the girl before beating her up pretty badly, then the man that found her ran out and shoved the woman across the street. In one shove! The camera glitched, before it showed the woman was gone and the man was on his feet. Then he kneeled down and looked for the wounds on the girl, picked her up, and rushed her to the doctor's office. Sherlock had assumed that the man that found the must've went to the gym or something like that for him to be able to push a person to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, but Moriarity was still shocked at what he saw. If he were to shove someone with all of his might from a sidewalk, the farthest he'd get them is at least a quarter of the way across the street.

"So I have an idea of what I'm going to ask the girl, but what are you going to ask the man that found her? If he was on the football team while he was in highschool?" Sherlock asked as Moriarity turned the car on the doctor's office street.

"Something like that." Moriarity answered. "I also want to ask if he has a connection with the woman." Sherlock looked at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"You think he might know the woman?"

"Either that or he's seen her before." Moriarity answered as he parked. "Let's just hope this ends well."

"Yeah, so that you can buy me a drink." Sherlock added. They exited the car and made their way to the entrance before they walked into the office, closing their umbrellas and looking around. The office was full of people in the waiting room, and it was quiet minus the receptionist tapping at the keyboard in front of her. Moriarity and Sherlock walked to the desk, making the blonde haired receptionist look up at them. They held up their badges and Sherlock took the opportunity to introduce them.

"Detectives Holmes and Moriarity. We're here to investigate the case of the murders in this city and we received security camera footage that a survivor was taken here. We just want to ask her and the man who found her some questions." The woman blinked in surprise.

"Oh! Okay, let me just check to see if she's awake and okay to answer questions." The receptionist stood, walked to the back, disappeared into a room, and closed the door behind her. Moriarity and Holmes looked at each other and shrugged, and Moriarity was glad he didn't have to tip another person per minute again. A man walked out of the same room that the receptionist had walked into and he spotted the two before he smiled, holding out his hand as he introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Romani Archaman. I'm monitoring Mash's health as she recovers." He introduced. Sherlock and Moriarity both shook his hand as Sherlock introduced them again.

"Detectives Holmes and Moriarity. On the case of the murders in the area. Pleasure." Roman nodded before he spoke again.

"I know you're here to get information from Mash, but I have to ask if you are going to interrogate her alone or if you're going to allow her to come out here." Moriarity arched a curious eyebrow.

"What difference will it make?" He asked.

"I can't allow her to be interrogated alone since it'll put her under pressure and that will cause her heart rate to increase." Roman informed. "I can't have her to feel stressed in any way. If you feel that your questions are a little too harsh, then come back later." Moriarity was going to protest against that, but Sherlock stopped him.

"Bring her out, I'll keep that in mind." He said before he took a seat in front of an empty row of chairs that would allow him to speak facing the two they planned to interrogate. Moriarity looked confusedly at him, but sat down next to him, figuring that Sherlock had some sort of plan. They waited patiently until a light peach haired nurse and the receptionist returned with the girl, helping her walk to the chairs in front of the two. Sherlock and Moriarity stood up until they'd completely sat her down before they sat down again, noticing that all the doctors remained in the room with all of the girl's relatives. Sherlock smiled comfortingly at the girl as Moriarity took out his notebook.

"Hi there. My name is Sherlock Holmes, and this man is James Moriarity. We're the detectives trying to track down the person that attacked you. What's your name?" The girl swallowed before she spoke.

"I'm Mash."

"Nice to meet you Mash. How old are you?" He asked.

"Seventeen. I'm in eleventh grade." Sherlock smiled comfortably at that.

"Still in school, huh? That's good." He said. "Do you know everyone in the waiting area?" Smart question Holmes. They needed to know if she had a connection to all of them. It was like simple logic. If A=B, and B=C, then A=C as well. If she knew the man that saved her, and that man knew the woman that attacked her, then the girl might know the woman who attacked her. The girl nodded. "Why don't you familiarize us with them?" Mash turned to her right to a group of men that smiled encouragingly at her. She pointed one by one to each of them as she talked about them.

"That's Lancelot, my dad, and that's Gawain, his best friend, and that's Sen--Ritsuka. We all live together in the same apartment. Tristan is dad and Gawain's good friend, he's always helping us out." Moriarity wrote down adjectives for future reference.

"Why do you live together?" Sherlock asked.

"It was just better financially for dad and Gawain."

"What about Ritsuka?"

"He had a death in the family so we let him live with us."

”Ah, condolences.” Sherlock told the boy. Mash then looked to the doctors with a small smile. "That's Doctor Roman, the doctor that helped me, that's Ms. Nightingale, the nurse, and Ms. Ereskigal. They all helped me when I was brought here last night." Mash then turned slowly in the other direction. "That's Ishtar, she works at the boutique two streets down, I visit there a lot. That's Mr. Ozymandias, the banker that helped my dad and Gawain, and Mr. Gilgamesh, his partner, and that's Merlin and Arthur. They're roommates." She finished before she turned back around to face them.

"Are one of them the person that brought you here?" Mash frowned, making Moriarity quirk an eyebrow.

"I don't remember." She said. Arthur stepped forward.

"I'm the one who brought her here." He stated, sitting down beside Mash.

"I recognize you, you're the bartender right?" Sherlock asked. Arthur nodded, smiling politely.

"Okay. So we can say that everyone in this room is acquainted in one form or another." Moriarity said. Arthur nodded with a smile.

"Yes, it's a small city after all." He said. Sherlock nodded in agreement before he took a deep breath.

"Let's start with Mash's side of the story. What happened yesterday?" Mash hesitated before she spoke.

"Since tomorrow is Ristuka's birthday, I was going to surprise him when we got home from the aquarium. I went out to buy decorations so that dad, Gawain, and Tristan could decorate the apartment. After I left the supermarket, I was going to try to catch Arthur while he was on his break so that I could invite him to the surprise party. When I reached the bar, that's when I was attacked.”

"Where was the woman when she attacked you?" Sherlock asked. "Was she walking towards you? Or did she catch you by surprise behind you?" Mash paused again, and Arthur looked at her comfortingly.

"It was more like she landed on top of me." She said. Sherlock and Moriarity were interested now. "She pushed me to the ground and hit my head, then she made me look at her face...her eyes specifically, and she said...'forget this happened'. Weirdly enough, I don't remember anything that happened after that point up until when I woke up this morning." Sherlock nodded as Moriarity wrote down notes quickly.

"Did you recognize the woman?" Mash shook her head.

"When you say she made you look into her eyes, did you notice anything strange about them?" Moriarity asked. "For example, another witness we interviewed after another incident said they saw eyes that looked like they were glowing. Did you see anything like that?" Sherlock waited patiently as Mash thought hard before she sighed, shaking her head.

"It's hard for me to say. My vision was blurry since my glasses were knocked off and my head was hit, so I couldn't see in general." She said. "I'm sorry.”

"Don't be, you've given us useful information so far." Sherlock said before he turned to Arthur. "Now let's hear it from your perspective. What happened last night?" Arthur took a deep breath before he started.

"I was working behind the bar, as usual, and I was finishing up with a couple of customers when I got a bad feeling. Ask Merlin, whenever I get a bad feeling, it usually means something is wrong. I inspected the whole bar thinking someone had left without paying, or there was a fight or something, but there was none of that. So I thought to look outside just in case, since the bad feeling I had wouldn’t go away. A co-worker of mine told me to go on break, so I went outside. That’s when I saw the woman attacking Mash. I went and pushed the woman away from her, then she ran. I wanted to chase after her but I didn’t want to leave Mash in the condition she was in. So then I rushed her here, and it was all in Roman’s hands from there.”

“Did you recognize the woman?” Moriarity asked, looking at Arthur intently. Arthur shook his head.

“I’ve never seen her before.”

“Did her eyes look different?” Moriarity asked. Arthur paused for a moment before he answered.

“No, her eyes looked completely normal to me.” He answered. Sherlock nodded before he inhaled deeply through his nose.

“In the footage we received, you had your hood up. Why is that?” He asked. Arthur laughed helplessly.

“If you’re going to hurt a killer on the loose, you have to hide your face so that you aren’t next on their hit-list.” Moriarity chuckled. He had a point.

“What did you do after you brought Mash here?” Sherlock asked.

“I took off my jacket and changed my shirt before I called Lancelot and told him.” He answered, making Gilgamesh scoff. Sherlock and Moriarity looked curiously at him. “I used his shirt.” The two detectives nodded.

“Arthur, while this may seem like an odd question, answer it honestly.” Moriarity started, making Arthur raise a curious eyebrow. “Do you lift weights at the gym or deal with heavy objects often?”

“Oh, all the time.” Arthur answered immediately. “I have to carry five crates of drinks at a time like ten times a night.” Sherlock smiled triumphantly as Moriarity gave a defeated sigh. Looks like he owed Sherlock a drink. “Why do you ask?”

“You shoved her all the way across the street. I couldn’t help but be curious.” Moriarity said.

“A big force against a small mass makes a large acceleration. Physics doesn’t lie.” Arthur joked. Moriarity and Sherlock nodded, agreeing with his logic, before Sherlock's phone rang. Sherlock excused himself and took the call.

“Detective Holmes...Arash. Anything new?” Sherlock’s eyebrows went up in shock, making Moriarity give him a curious look. “Four new victims within ten minutes?” Everyone in the room was just as shocked at that. “Okay, we’ll be right there.” Sherlock hung up before he and Moriarity stood. “Thank you for the information, but as you heard, a serious issue has just come up. Mash, we wish that you recover to good health soon.”

“Yes, and please contact us if anything new comes up.” Moriarity added as they opened their umbrellas, waved, and left.

“Four new dead victims within ten minutes, all very far from each other.” Sherlock said as they entered the car.

“What? One woman couldn’t possibly manage all of that!” Moriarity said, starting the car and pulling away from the doctor’s office.

  
“So then it’s not a single person we’re hunting down here.” Sherlock said grimly.

“It’s a whole group of people.”


	12. Author note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick reassurance that I haven’t stopped writing this fic lmao

Hello everyone! I’m beef, author of this fic. First, I want to apologize for disappointing y’all. I bet you thought this was the new chapter, but it turns out it’s just me instead lmao. I also want to apologize not updating this fic for like...6 days T-T. I was on vacation for a couple of days and then I got sick so I’ve been trying to work on the next chapter little by little. Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll have a new and juicy chapter up and I’ll get back into the swing of things. Second, I wanna let everyone know that I haven’t given up on this fic. Like, at all. I have...basically the plot for the next three chapters planned out in a little notebook in my room. Believe it or not this is actually my first fanfic that I’m posting onto ao3, and I really appreciate the amount of support and feedback that I’ve gotten from y’all. I was actually really nervous that the first couple of chapters weren’t good or engaging, but after getting feedback and lots of love from all y’all...I couldn’t be happier that I decided to write this fic. I’d like to especially thank my two role models and great friends hovercraft and fuwafuwamedb, I love you both and appreciate you help in guiding and helping me so far. Without your encouragement when I showed you both the first chapter, I never would have posted it. So thank you <3.  
Other than that I really don’t have anything else to report! Expect a new chapter tomorrow, and thank you all again for reading!

-Beef


	13. Monday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mentions of abuse and rape in Ishtar’s POV but it’s really fast and there’s no detail.
> 
> For perspective:  
> Enkidu and Kingu - They/Them pronouns  
> Mordred - He/Him pronouns

**morning.**

“In the end, I called off on the contract and told the guy that I wouldn’t pay a dime if he wasn’t going to give me the whole package.” Gilgamesh said on the other side of the phone. Enkidu nodded approvingly, closing their laptop and putting it in their bag before they left the cafe they were resting at.

“Good, I would’ve done the same thing. If he isn’t going to give you the whole package then what’s the point in paying him?” Enkidu said as they began to walk towards Capture Co.

“Anyway, I’ve had a boatload of work to do ever since I came back from my single day off. It’s good that the girl wasn’t killed, but when Ozymandias and I checked to see if any from their nest were in the area, there was nobody. It was a waste.” Gilgamesh sighed, and Enkidu heard him plop something onto his desk.

“You’ll get your work done eventually. Then you can spare some time hunting the other nest. Have you eaten lately?” Enkidu asked. There was silence, and Enkidu’s voice became stern. “Gil?”

“...No. I haven’t had the chance.” Enkidu frowned deeply.

“Gilgamesh, you can’t keep putting off eating like this. Especially when there’s another nest around.” Enkidu was really worried about what would happen to their best friend if he didn’t quiet his thirst soon enough. The last time it had happened...well, Enkidu had scars on their side to tell the story.

“I was going to go grab something from Ereshkigal at 5:00–”

“No way. You’re not waiting that long.” Enkidu said firmly. “I’m five minutes away from the office, I’ll grab you something and come right to your office.”

“I have a meeting in half an hour, Enkidu.” Gilgamesh protested.

“That’s plenty of time for you to take care of yourself.” Enkidu turned and began walking towards the doctor’s office. “You know better. Ignoring your thirst isn’t going to end well, Gilgamesh.”

“I’ll postpone my meeting if you’re late. I’ll be waiting.” Was all the reply that came before Gilgamesh hung up. Enkidu sighed, shaking their head at how hopeless their friend was before they decided to call the office and tell Ereshkigal. They put the phone up to their ear and waited for the phone to pick up.

“Hello, thank you for calling the doctor’s office, how may I help you?” Ereshkigal’s voice was cheerful.

“Ereshkigal, it’s Enkidu. Can you prepare two of the big packs for Gilgamesh? He’s been ignoring his thirst, so I’m a bit worried for him.” They said.

“Is that so? I’ll get it ready then. Are you going to take it to him?” Enkidu laughed slightly.

“That depends, is Ozymandias there?”

“He just left. I can call him back if you’re too busy to take it there.” She informed.

“No, no. That’s okay. I don’t mind.” Enkidu said. “How is everything over there? I heard from Gil that Arthur almost lost it.”

“Everything is fine now, Arthur’s at his apartment. Probably feeding himself and sleeping since he’s been awake for two days straight.”

“What about Bedivere?”

“He was worried that Arthur didn’t call him for two days, but Arthur told him it was an emergency. I don’t understand romance these days and how your partner always has to know your whereabouts.”

“I don’t understand it either, but did he believe it?” Enkidu was curious. Since vampires couldn’t lie, they wondered how the nest seemed normal in front of their human friends and acquaintances. Gilgamesh couldn’t exactly hide it when Enkidu and Kingu found out, and neither could Ishtar...but that didn’t matter. Their way of finding out was...a special case.

“He had no choice, since Arthur sounded about as tired and distressed as someone could during an emergency. You know how hidden we need to keep ourselves now. Just yesterday, the girl’s friend found us out.” Enkidu blinked in surprise.

“Really? You guys are about as secretive as they come, how’d they find out?” They asked.

“He’s just smart. He crept around while none of us were in the office, found all the evidence, and confronted us about it at dawn.” Ereshkigal sighed. “It makes me wonder if we’re really that obvious.”

“You aren’t, believe me.” Enkidu reassured. “But he’s a one in a million. Any other person could be handed all the evidence they need to find it out and they still wouldn’t know.”

“That’s true. Anyway, he and the girl are the only ones here besides me, Nightingale, and Roman. Everyone else had to go back to work after a day off, though the girl’s relatives were a bit worried at first. I told them she’d be in good hands here.”

“That’s great. I’m glad everyone’s getting back to normal.”

“It was definitely a scare, that much I know. Between keeping the girl alive and making sure Arthur didn’t go crazy, I don’t know which was more difficult.”

“Good job keeping it all under control.” Enkidu had to hand it to Ereshkigal, she was the best in keeping the vampires together. Sometimes they even wondered if she handled herself just as good as she handled the others. “What about you? Were you able to pull through okay?”

“Was a little shaky near the end, but I was okay after I had a blood pack and a breath of fresh air.” She answered. “You know how good Merlin, Ozymandias, and I are when it comes to handling thirst.” Enkidu laughed slightly as they turned onto the street of the doctor’s office, which was all the way down at the end of the street.

“Yeah, too bad Arthur, Ishtar, and Gilgamesh aren’t as good.”

“Don’t even get me started.” Ereshkigal sighed. “Are you close?”

“Yeah. Three minutes or so and I’ll be there.” They said before they said goodbye and hung up. Enkidu sighed, wondering how long it was going to take before they were all found out. One smart boy wasn’t a problem now, but then there was gonna be another smart person, and another. Next thing they’ll know, the entire city will be too smart for their own good. Maybe not that, since he had to admit the people in the city could be stupidly dense sometimes, but the other nest will probably try to expose them too so that attention isn’t on them. Or, since the entire nest had the worst habit of ignoring their thirst, Enkidu was worried that they’ll reveal themselves to others the way Gilgamesh had to them and their brother. No matter what the others said, Enkidu and Kingu insisted on one thing.

Gilgamesh was a great guy.

He hadn’t allowed any harm to come to Enkidu and Kingu since then, just like he promised. When Enkidu reached the doctor’s office and pulled the door open, Ereshkigal was walking back to the desk with the lunchbox in her hand. She saw Enkidu and waved, making them walk to the counter and take the lunchbox with a smile. Nightingale and the new doctor, Roman, walked out of the prep room to join her behind the desk and a boy, probably the one Ereshkigal told Enkidu about, walked out to see what was going on.

“Ereshkigal, you’re on break next if you’re up for it.” Roman informed before he and Nightingale spotted Enkidu standing on the other side of the desk. Nightingale smiled at them and waved, and Enkidu waved back.

“It’s good to see you, Enkidu. I hope you aren’t here because of your side.” She said knowingly. Enkidu laughed helplessly and shook their head.

“No, I’m just here to pick up something.” They said. Nightingale nodded approvingly and resumed her normal activities as the boy quirked a curious eyebrow at them.

“What happened to your side?” He asked. A lot of things happened to Enkidu’s side, but this wasn’t the person to explain to, even though he already knew about the nest. Too many things happened after what happened to Enkidu’s side. The old doctor quit after he patched Enkidu up. He threw this hands in the air, yelling because it was “too much”. He’d cursed at Gilgamesh and Ozymandias when they tried to calm him down then he left, and two days later, the movers were at his house. Enkidu didn’t want to talk about it to anyone, it was something from the past that they didn’t want to bring up because he didn’t want to hurt Gilgamesh. Even now, the memories of the incident still haunted them.

_Claws. Fangs. Glowing eyes. The smell of blood. The sharp pain in his side. Kingu holding him protectively as they both stared in shock at the sight in front of them._

“A hiking accident.” Enkidu lied with a feigned smile, forcing themselves out of their thoughts. Roman nodded in understanding, not prodding any further. Enkidu couldn’t help but worry about how Roman would manage after a couple of months or a year in the city, since a lot of other nests have hit the city before. Usually other nests would appear to just hurt a few people and leave after Gilgamesh’s nest gave them a stern threatening, but the current nest...Enkidu wasn’t sure what they were thinking, to kill and hurt so brutally out in the open. This was definitely going to be a hard nest to deal with. If the old doctor quit after just six months, how long would it be before Roman quit?

“Those are rough, it’s good that you’ve been doing alright.” Roman said, smiling at them.

“Thanks. I’ll get going now since Gil said he was waiting for me. I’m sure I’ll see you all again.” Enkidu said.

“Take care.” Ereshkigal called as Enkidu left. As they made their way down the street, Enkidu wondered if they should call a cab in order to take Gilgamesh’s food there faster so that he could eat it (or _drink_ it, rather) before his meeting. Knowing him, Gilgamesh wouldn’t postpone the meeting, he has too much work on his shoulders for him to delay doing any of it. Trusting their gut, Enkidu pulled a cab over.

“Where to?” The driver asked gruffly as Enkidu opened the door and sat down.

“Capture Co., and I’ll add something extra if you get me there fast.” They replied simply as they closed the door and buckled up. The driver grinned, liking the sound of the offer.

“You got it, captain.” He said, pulling away from the street and speeding around the corner. The driver snuck a glance at Enkidu from the rearview mirror, but they ignored it, already knowing what the man was thinking. You didn’t go to Capture Co. if you weren’t rich, so this man was probably thinking about the tip he was going to get. When the cab skidded to a halt in front of the corporation, the man beamed at them, obviously expecting a huge tip from making a twenty minute drive ten minutes instead. Enkidu handed him forty dollars, definitely covering the fare and making the tip generous.

“Keep the change.” They said as they opened the door. The driver grabbed one of his business cards and handed it to them quickly.

“Hey, anytime! Just phone me if you need a favor!” The man called, making Enkidu throw a smile over their shoulder before they rushed towards the corporation door. The two body guards at the front stopped Enkidu and gently pushed them back a couple of steps, and they sighed.

“Oh come on. I come here everyday, you should know me by now.” They said with a nervous smile. The guards smiled mockingly back down at them, using their height to tower over Enkidu.

“Do you have ID?” The one to their right asked.

“W-well…” Enkidu started.

“You know the drill. No ID, no entry.” The other one said. These guards were annoying. They knew who Enkidu and their brother were and how close they were to Gilgamesh, but they still insisted for ID like it was any other person coming to do business at the corporation.

Of course that wouldn’t be a problem if Enkidu remembered his ID.

“Can’t you just let me in? There’s no time for this.” Enkidu said impatiently. The guards shook their heads firmly.

“Nope. Next time bring your ID. Gilgamesh told us to be very strict about it.” The guard to their left said. Enkidu huffed out a sigh, looking down at their feet while thinking about what to do. They could call Gilgamesh to let him in, but the last time he did that Gilgamesh was mad since it was time wasted on something so trivial.

“I told you to be strict about it to everyone except for this fool and their brother, idiots.” Enkidu’s head snapped up, relieved to see Gilgamesh standing at the door with his arms crossed a scowl on his face. “Don’t tell me I need to find new guards.” The guards straightened immediately.

“N-no sir!” They stammered making room for Gilgamesh to walk forward, take Enkidu by the arm, and drag them into the facility. Enkidu stuck their tongue out at the guards before they rushed to keep up with their friend with a wide smile on their face.

“Ahaha, thanks for showing up like that. They definitely would’ve made me go home and get my ID, and I just spent forty dollars on a cab.” Gilgamesh looked at them with a look that Enkidu could only describe as an annoyed disbelief.

“Forty dollars? I thought you were coming from the doctors office!” He hissed as they took the elevator to his office.

“I was, but I know you aren’t going to postpone a meeting when you have boatloads of work.” Enkidu said, a matter-of-fact tone in their voice. Gilgamesh scoffed, the sound coming out like an incredulous laugh as he shook his head and opened the door to his office. Enkidu couldn’t understand the point in such a grandiose office. One of the walls was a giant window (thankfully tainted from the outside), the floor was marble, there was a golden chandelier over the white desk he had to match the floor, and a comfortable seating area for him and guests to sit made up of a long sofa and an equally sized table in front of it. Gilgamesh flopped onto the sofa before holding out his hand in a ‘give me’ kind of gesture. Enkidu beamed and handed him the lunchbox before they sat down on the other side of the sofa. Gilgamesh let himself relax as he opened the lunchbox with a sigh.

“I can’t believe I have this much work to do after I wasn’t here for a day.” He said, taking out one of the blood packs and letting his fangs drop before biting into the pouch. Enkidu noticed the childish pout on Gilgamesh’s face and laughed quietly.

“Half of it is work that could be done by a secretary, you know. Just promote one of the people at the desk and you won’t have as much work.” Enkidu suggested. Gilgamesh shrugged, making Enkidu quirk an eyebrow. “If you don’t know who, I can recommend Siduri. She does most of the work at the front desk since all of the other receptionists do nothing but push the work over to her. She’s really kind too, and she’ll be happy to help you.” Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow. “It’ll be hard to figure you out when you hardly talk to anyone here.” Gilgamesh closed his eyes approvingly and nodded. Enkidu smiled and looked down at their hands before they spoke. “The new doctor is nice. He doesn’t ask too many questions.” They felt Gilgamesh’s eyes on them again before they continued to talk. “Nightingale and Ereshkigal were kind when I saw them too, but that boy is a little too curious I would say.” Enkidu looked back at Gilgamesh with a tired smile as he finished the blood pack and threw it away.

“Did he ask you?” He asked. Enkidu nodded, but gave him a reassuring look.

“I didn’t tell him. It’s not something he needs to know.”

“It might happen again.” Gilgamesh was quiet. “It might be worse than...that time with you.” Enkidu shook their head and smiled comfortingly at him.

“I won’t let that happen.”

“The boy seemed so proud that he figured it out, but he has no idea how bad our kind really is.” Enkidu could tell what he was trying to say in an instant, they knew Gil too well.

“You aren’t bad. You didn’t kill anyone.” Enkidu said. Gilgamesh shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. There were unspoken words behind the movement.

_I almost did._

“If I thought you were bad, and if I was afraid of you, would I be paying forty dollars on a cab to make sure you’re taking care of yourself?” Enkidu asked, crossing their arms. Gil huffed out a small laugh and shrugged. “Kingu and I trust you, Gil. You were our best friend when you seemed human, and you’re still our best friend now. Nothing’s changed.” Gilgamesh nodded, smiling slightly.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

**noon.**

“You didn’t go to school?” Mash looked at Ritsuka curiously as he beamed down at her from where he was standing next to her bed.

“Nope.” He said, popping the _‘p’_ in a silly way. Ritsuka really had stayed here for the past few days to see if she was okay.

“Why? We had a test in math today, you would have done so well on it!”

“It’s my birthday, and I’d rather spend it making sure you’re okay instead of spending it in school.” He replied, placing his hands on his hips and puffing his chest. Mash couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and she felt heat creep up into her face. Ritsuka really wanted to spend his birthday with her even though she ruined it by ending up at the doctor’s office? It seemed almost too good to be true. Mash had felt piles upon piles of guilt ever since she woke up yesterday. She felt as if she made everything worse by getting attacked randomly. Ritsuka had just lost Olga, and the next closest person to him was almost killed. Mash couldn’t even remember half of what happened for heaven’s sake! Every single time she would try to remember what happened so that she could tell Ereshkigal, the woman’s words echoed in her head and cloud all the memories.

_Forget this happened…_

“I’m glad, thank you.” Mash said, smiling at him. “What about Dad, Gawain, Tristan, and Arthur? Did they stay for a little?”

“Yeah, they made sure you were okay before they left. Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan are going to be back at two, but Arthur was exhausted, so he’s going to be back later.” He informed.

“I wanted to thank Arthur for helping me. Who knows what would’ve happened if he hadn’t shown up when he did…” Mash bit her lip, guilt crashing over her again. Lancelot and Ritsuka would’ve been plagued with grief for the longest time. After her dad and mom divorced, Mash and Lancelot only had each other. Mash couldn’t imagine what would happen if Lancelot was alone. Her heart ached at the thought.

“Trust me, Lancelot couldn’t stop thanking Arthur and Dr. Roman for helping you. He was guilty about the fact that he didn’t go with you.” Ritsuka said.

“I think it was for the better. Something tells me that he would have gotten hurt too.”

“But now’s not the time to think about that. How are you feeling today?” He asked. Mash smiled at him.

“Better than I was two days ago. I don’t feel that much pain.” She said.

“Do you want to go out to the lobby to get a new waft of air? You must feel so cooped up in here.” Ritsuka said, opening a window to let a cold breeze enter the room.

“That would be nice, but I don’t want to do anything that Doctor Roman said I shouldn’t do.” Mash said. Ritsuka smiled at her.

“Here, I’ll go ask him. Maybe Ereshkigal can help you walk out.” He said before he left quickly. Mash sighed, looking out the open window and taking in the sight of the partly-cloudy city.

_Senpai is so nice._

Mash couldn’t believe that in the middle of all of RItsuka’s grief after Olga died and his struggles with sleeping in a new place to call home, he was still able to worry about her and her well-being. She hardly deserved it after she made Ritsuka spend his birthday in the doctor’s office instead of at the aquarium and at home like she promised.

So then why was he being so kind?

Mash couldn’t help the tears that pricked the back of her eyes and slid down her face. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the small gasps and sobs that slipped past her lips as she guiltily looked down at her lap.

“Mash! Dr. Roman said that you can--Mash?” Ritsuka stormed into the room like he had great news before he stopped abruptly when he saw her. “Hey, are you okay? Does something hurt?” Ritsuka rushed over before he looked around at her healing injuries to see if something is out of place. “What’s wrong? Please don’t cry Mash.” His voice was desperate. Mash wiped her eyes quickly, but she couldn’t stop the flow of tears falling down her face.

“I-I’m sorry...I just wanted you to have a good day today...so that you wouldn’t keep being upset.” Mash confessed everything that had been bothering her since yesterday, that had almost made her tell Ereshkigal to turn away the detectives. Ritsuka shook his head, patting Mash’s back softly since afraid to hurt her injuries any further.

“No, Mash...I am having a good day. This is actually the best way I could spend my birthday. I didn’t want anything too special and…” Ritsuka looked into her eyes, his gaze pleading. “I just wanted to spend it with you.” Mash knew the blush was on her face before she felt it.

“S-senpai...I--” She started.

“Sorry to interrupt…” Ereshkigal’s voice came out of nowhere, making Mash wipe her eyes quickly as Ritsuka looked up at the doorway, a blush painting his face bright pink.

“Ahaha! No problem.” Ritsuka laughed it off like it was nothing as he stood sharply. “Here, let me get out of the way so that you can help Mash. I’ll be in the waiting room.”

Then he left.

The magical moment that had happened between her and Ritsuka was over just as soon as it had started, leaving Mash and Ereshkigal in an awkward silence. Ereshkigal broke the silence with a cheerful smile.

“So! A new environment to sit in, right? I’ll take you right over.” She said. Mash nodded gratefully, letting Ereshkigal gently move the equipment away from the bed. Then Ereshkigal looked at Mash seriously. “You were crying. Are you sure you’re okay?” Mash blinked in surprise, not expecting that Ereshkigal would notice.

“Oh, I’m fine. I was just guilty that’s all…” Mash said quietly. Ereshkigal smiled teasingly at her.

“Guilty that you couldn’t surprise your boyfriend like you planned?” Mash blushed furiously and shook her head.

“N-no! It’s not like that!” She exclaimed. “We’re like...siblings? Kind of?” Ereshkigal had a knowing gleam in her red eyes and her smile widened.

“Oh, you don’t have to be shy! I’ll keep your secret safe with me.” She said, helping Mash to her feet with a wink. Mash decided not to deny it any further since she didn’t want the conversation to carry on into the waiting room. As they made their way to the room, she noticed that Nightingale wasn’t around and that Dr. Roman was out in the waiting room with Ritsuka. When Ereshkigal helped her sit down in a chair, Dr. Roman smiled kindly at her.

“It’s good that you’re getting a change in environment, Mash. Being happier in a new environment helps to ease pain and boosts your immune system.” He said. Mash smiled back, glad that Dr. Roman was so determined to get her back to good health.

“It’s better than always being in my room, that’s for sure.” Ritsuka joked.

“I didn’t see Nightingale though. It’s not her day off today, is it?” Mash asked. Roman shook his head.

“No, it isn’t. She just got an important phone call and had to leave. She’ll probably be back at night though.”

“I hope everything’s okay.” Mash really liked Nightingale, she had a strong character and she was just as determined to get her back on her feet as Roman was. Even though she had her own problems too, like taking care of her mother and making sure her own health was in top condition, Mash looked up to her. She wanted to be just like Nightingale and Ritsuka, able to take care of herself and others.

“I’m sure she’s fine. She’s probably helping her mom find her medicine again. The woman always misplaces it and forgets where she put it.” Ereshkigal sighed at the last part, shaking her head and shrugging. Ritsuka nodded, feeling reassured, but Mash couldn’t help the bad feeling she had. If it really was nothing, then Nightingale would’ve said goodbye to her and Ritsuka. Even if she was angry at something, she would still say goodbye. Mash shook her head to snap herself out of it. Ereshkigal said Nightingale was going to be okay, didn’t she?

Mash just hoped she was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry but also no im not.
> 
> So basically:  
> 1) something happened between enkidu, kingu, ishtar, and gil  
> 2) mash and ritsuka like each other (or do they >:3)  
> Thanks for comin to my TedTalk


	14. Monday Evening/Night

**evening.**

Ishtar was on her last nerve.

Between her nest being unable to catch the vamps that almost killed the girl and business being unbearably slow today, Ishtar really couldn’t tell what was pissing her off more. Usually her business was booming everyday no matter the weather, so why didn’t anyone want to stop by her luxurious boutique. Actually, Ishtar knew what was making her mad. She was _very_ aware of why she was upset today.

It was that stupid golden haired _idiot_.

It was that man who rejected her in front of his twin friends so that he could run off with the banker that really had her going today. What did that banker have that she didn’t anyway? They both had money, yeah, and they both had big businesses that were ranked number one in the city by Hans C. Anderson, but did Ozymandias win an award for being the best looking male in the city?

No, the idiot won that award.

What Ishtar had was the award for being the best looking female in the city, and the pictures on the news, magazines, and city website were _flawless_. It made all the guys in the city grovel at her feet with flowers, jewelry, and unbelievable business offers so that they could be the lucky guy that Ishtar would call her boyfriend.

But Ishtar didn’t want any of those guys.

Ishtar wanted someone who was deemed just as attractive as she was, someone who was just as _rich_ as she was. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Ishtar, the best looking female in the city, dating Gilgamesh, the best looking male in the city. It was like Hans C. Anderson was _trying_ to set them up! The title didn’t lie at all, either. Even though he was a vampire just like her and all vampires are naturally breathtaking in terms of appearance, Gilgamesh’s looks were a blessing, vampire or not. So, Ishtar marched right up to his office to tell him how she felt only to find those two twins sitting on his sofa while he signed off on paperwork. She figured it would be fine asking him out in front of the twins, since no guy was brave or stupid enough to reject her, but poor little Ishtar was caught completely off guard.

Gilgamesh was brave and stupid enough to reject her.

And now all the feelings Ishtar used to have for Gilgamesh were completely replaced with dislike. It was like Gilgamesh had already seen it all coming. Ishtar had herself caught in the spiderweb of his good looks, then the giant spider of the heartless and selfish man he was revealed himself behind the mask of his beautiful face. Ishtar sighed, putting away a pile of sewing materials that she had out laying around as she noticed that her thirst was bugging her a little. Looking back at it all, Ishtar was disgusted at herself for falling for his trap, and she cursed herself for being so...gullible. It wasn’t the rejection that had Ishtar fuming until now, though…

It was the utter _humiliation_ of it all.

Gilgamesh rejected her in front of his two best friends, and that caused a whole problem in itself. Then _that_ problem led to the old doctor quitting, and then _that_ whole situation caused a huge argument to break out within the nest that left things awkward for two months. It stayed awkward and weird in the nest up until the girl was attacked. That was when they all decided to forget it all happened and to be careful about their thirst for the sake of them staying hidden. Since then, it was almost like that whole incident never happened, like it was completely erased from the past.

But it wasn’t.

No matter how hard Ishtar and her nest tried to forget the whole thing, vampires had an unbelievable memory, and that situation was big enough for all of them to remember for another couple of decades or so. Her phone rang, making her jump about a foot in the air as she was startled out of her thoughts. She picked up the phone, not bothering to check who was calling her, before she put the phone up to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Ishtar? It’s me.” Her sister’s voice was calm and didn’t sound urgent, so Ishtar figured it was safe to assume that nothing crazy happened.

“Ereshkigal, what’s up?” She asked.

“Nothing really. I’m on my break, so I’m out walking around.” Ishtar smiled slightly.

“See anyone you can bring to the boutique? Business is slow today.”

“That’s rare, but no I don’t see anyone.” Ereshkigal replied before she paused. “Actually, now that you mention it...I _really_ don’t see anyone.” Ishtar raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m the only one walking around. The city is emptier than usual.” Ereshkigal informed.

“Really?” Ishtar asked. “Maybe they’re all afraid to be outside when it’s getting dark out.”

“Definitely. If I was human then I wouldn’t bring myself to walk outside alone.” Ishtar huffed out a sigh.

“It’s so annoying. The ones from the new nest are really pushing their luck, killing random people and then hiding. They’re making themselves so obvious.”

“But so are we.” Ereshkigal said. “On Friday night, when you heard a girl scream and you went to check what happened, you almost got caught by the woman who called the police.” Ishtar paused as her sister continued. “Merlin was there when the first man was killed. Arthur scared Anderson when the poor guy found the dead woman, and then he was involved again when he found Mash…and now there are four more people that Ozymandias told me he saw after he followed a weird guy that he bumped into.” Ishtar began to see what her twin was trying to say. “We’re just as obvious as them. If it wasn’t for the fact that we keep ourselves so hidden, we would be in so much trouble.”

Ereshkigal was right. About all of it.

“You’re not wrong.” That was all Ishtar said. There was nothing else she _could_ say, given how right Ereshkigal was. “How much longer are you going to be on break?”

“I’m heading back now. Have you had anything to eat yet?” Ereshkigal asked.

“No, I think I’m going to stop by later to get something.”

“Good, it would be nice if you stayed since the boy and his family are going to do a quick celebration for his birthday.” Ishtar resisted the urge to scoff. Like she would do something as silly as that. As a vampire, original birthdays were something that were overlooked and completely forgotten.

The only day vampires remembered was their “rebirth”day.

Ishtar’s nest didn’t really talk much about the day they were turned, and the only time they all discussed it was when they formed the nest. Ishtar and Ereshkigal were turned by their abusive father when they were really young, around twenty years old. The twins and their mom had no idea that he was a vampire until he hit and raped Ereshkigal before turning her while their mom wasn’t home. When Ishtar found out a couple of days later, she sat and begged Ereshkigal to turn her too. She didn’t want Ereshkigal to go through all the suffering and pain alone, and their mom definitely wasn’t going to help her, so Ishtar told her sister to turn her too so that they could run away from home and help each other together. Ereshkigal didn’t have a choice. Staying home would leave her with suffering and leaving home would leave Ishtar with the monster that did horrible things to her. If she turned Ishtar and ran away with her, they would be in bad condition but at least they would be safe. So, Ereshkigal turned her and they ran away that same night. They were sisters and they loved each other, they wanted to help each other out and be together forever, even if it meant living the rest of their lives drinking blood.

Gilgamesh and Arthur had similar cases when it came to being turned. Someone broke into Gilgamesh’s penthouse and killed his parents, but Gilgamesh put up a fight before the vampire decided to turn him instead of killing him too. That’s when he met Enkidu and Kingu. Ishtar could confidently say that those two were the reason that he didn’t end up like those out of control vampires that went around and turned people like those vampires that turned the rest of her nest. Arthur was turned very recently, in the beginning of the last killing spree in the city, so it was understandable that he would have the most trouble with his thirst. He was out partying with Gawain, Tristan, Lancelot, and a person named Mordred, who didn’t really get along well with Arthur. It wasn’t like they hated each other and they didn’t like each other, they just didn’t see eye to eye. They were at a club, and when Arthur went to get a breath of fresh air outside, he was attacked and turned. He had told the nest that he couldn’t see who turned him, but Merlin had seen everything and rushed to go help him. Every time someone would ask him if he was sure he didn’t see the person who turned him, he would nod and say that he would tell them if he did. Since then, Gawain, Tristan, and Lancelot had mentioned that this Mordred person had suddenly disappeared too, so Ishtar assumed that they were attacked and turned at the same time Arthur was.

And then there were Ozymandias and Merlin. Both of them were turned a long time ago...and they rarely talked about it. Even when they _did_ talk about it, they never went into detail. Ishtar only knew a couple of things about both of them. Merlin was turned in a city that knew it was infested with vampires, and he was really popular in that city too. His situation kind of reminded Ishtar of the witch trials, everyone accused each other of being a vampire, and the ones that were proved to be a vampire were killed in public. So when Merlin was turned, even though he kept it hidden really well, the people in the city were afraid of him and they accused him of being a vampire. Not wanting to be feared or figured out, and not wanting the people to be in distress anymore, he moved out of the city. Ozymandias had it the worst, in Ishtar’s opinion. He was in his own engagement party when it happened. The party was enormous, as he described it, but then the vampires attacked right in the middle of the party, killing everyone, including his closest friend, Moses, and newly engaged fiance, Nefertari. They had left him to be the last one alive, forced to sit through all of those deaths, before one of the vamps turned him.

It was really tough being a vampire.

“Ishtar? Hey! Are you still there?” Ereshkigal’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Man, Ishtar was really out of it today.

“Yeah I’m still here. Sorry, I zoned out.” She said. There was a small pause on the other end of the phone before Ereshkigal spoke, her voice upbeat.

“Well? Are you going to stay for the party or not?”

“I don’t think so. I’ll pass this time.” Ishtar said, rubbing her forehead.

“Are you sure? Everyone else is going to be there.” Ishtar remembered how Ereshkigal said they all managed to be at the scene of the murders and attacks before she thought about how she was going to be the only one not at the small little party before she sighed.

“I’ll see when I get there.”

**night.**

“You did _what_?!” Diarmuid demanded, looking at Cu angrily. “You ate four people?!”

“Calm down, Diarmuid. I was starving.” Cu put his hands up defensively with a slight smile as Mordred watched the situation unfold in front of him. “I ate until I wasn’t twitchy anymore. Be glad I didn’t eat until I was full, then I _really_ would’ve let go.” Mordred rolled his eyes, understanding why Diarmuid was upset. One bad murder every other night was one thing, but four people in one night was really pushing it. The police and the other nest in the city would be all over them, trying to find them so that they could arrest them or kill them. When Mordred had his meal, he may have gone a little overboard when he broke the woman’s arms and legs before he ate her, but at least it fit into the “brutal murder” category. Cu just made four people who were beaten up pretty badly and had no blood left.

“Now, now Diarmuid. At least he ate something.” Medb said. Yan Qing smiled wickedly.

“Yeah, if we let him stay for ten more minutes I’m pretty sure he would’ve eaten _us_.” He joked.

“It’s good that he ate something…” Shuten started. “But four people in one day is a little overboard.” She pouted before looking at Mordred. “What do you think?” Mordred shrugged and sighed, standing up and deciding that he needed some time alone.

“I don’t care. I’m going for a walk.” He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Are you going to eat?” Medb asked.

“I don’t know yet.” Was all he said. It was true, Mordred really didn’t know if he was hungry enough to eat someone. He just ate a couple of nights ago, so it’s not like he was starving.

“If you’re going to eat, be smart about it.” Diarmuid said. “We don’t want someone else blowing our cover.” He said that while glaring at Cu.

“Hey, it’s not like I _completely_ blew our cover, and I didn’t…” Mordred tuned them out as he walked to the ledge of the building’s ceiling.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll be back later.” Mordred aimed the response to the two girls that were more interested about what he was up to before he lept down into the alley way. He walked into the open with a sigh, needing to get those five out of his hair. Mordred and the rest of his nest were great friends and all, he liked all of them, but they were so noisy sometimes.

They were all dumbasses too.

Diarmuid was logical and he was all about not being caught or found out, Medb was all about sleeping with good looking men, Shuten was always drunk, Cu was all about having a good time, and Yan Qing...well, Mordred didn’t actually know what the deal was with Yan Qing. All Mordred knew was that he enjoyed Yan Qing out of all of them. He was like a combination of the others’ personality traits, and that didn’t make him...loud and annoying. Mordred got headaches easily, so it was good to have someone that didn’t cause a commotion. As he walked around the cold city, Mordred wondered what he was going to do. He was sitting with the group as normal, but then he got the sudden feeling that he had to be somewhere. Like there was something his nest overlooked that needed more attention or investigation. Where would Mordred go though? Certainly not the bar. It was too noisy there. There was a library in front of the doctor’s office, maybe he’d go there. It was quiet, and that would help the headache that began to pulse in his temples. Mordred looked around once, twice, three times to make sure nobody was around, which he was glad to see that the city was completely empty, before he bounded up onto the nearest building’s ceiling and began to make his way to the library. Mordred loved rooftop running, it made him feel like he was getting a whiff of fresh air. It made him feel _free_ , like all the responsibilities of staying hidden and keeping the nest alive were being left on the ground. Mordred looked down at the city, taking in the storefronts and catching quick glances at the bug sized people.

Until he saw _him_.

Mordred wanted to brush it off like it was nothing and say that he was just seeing things because he was _positive_ Gawain had told him he’d moved away for a while, but the man looked too familiar, even in mid-air from where Mordred saw him. He was talking on the phone with that soft smile of his as he walked towards the doctor’s office, probably talking to a girlfriend or boyfriend or some lovey dovey shit like that. Mordred clenched his jaw and let himself drop into another alleyway, his landing melding into fast walking to the corner of the building before he peered around the corner to make sure he had the right guy. Blonde hair, emerald green eyes, a thin but muscled physique…

That was Arthur.

Just looking at him made Mordred’s blood boil. Mordred inhaled slowly before crossing the street and walking towards the bookstore, his fists clenching and unclenching in by his sides. Mordred had too physically restrain himself from ripping the library door open before he walked inside, walking to one of the shelves by the window so that he could see what that goody-goody bastard was up to. He saw him walk in as he hung up with whoever he was talking to, and Mordred honed his ears on the conversation across the street as Arthur greeted everyone in the room.

_“How’s Mash?”_ The question was from Arthur, and Mordred recognized the name. Mash was Lance’s kid, right? That means Lancelot, Tristan, and Gawain must be there too if they were worried about them.

 _“Napping, and Ritsuka is out with Tristan, Gawain, and Lancelot picking out a cake.”_ The nurse with blonde pigtails behind the counter spoke. That didn’t make any sense at all. Lancelot had his kid in August, not in April.

_“What about Roman and Nightingale?”_

_“Nightingale isn’t back yet, but she told me she was going to surprise Ritsuka by coming through the back entrance. Roman is making sure everything is okay for us to close up. He won’t be back until he checks all the boxes the delivery folks left outside.”_ The nurse spoke again, making the corner of Mordred’s lip’s quirk up into a slight smile. Perfect. Mordred walked out of the library again before crossing the street, a thrill shooting up his body at the thought of confronting someone he hasn’t seen in a long time. Reminding himself not to break the door handle, Mordred opened the door to the office and walked slowly to the front desk, immediately feeling Arthur’s eyes on him. The nurse at the desk looked up at him with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, we’re closing up right about now. Is it an emergency?” Mordred’s fingers twitched a little and his fangs ached, but he told himself to keep himself together. He beamed at the lady, keeping his mouth closed or else he was sure his fangs wouldn’t stay up.

“No, no. Can I schedule an appointment?” He said with a slight laugh. The woman nodded before tapping away at the computer.

“Yep! I can do that.” She said before talking again, her gaze not moving away from the computer. “Your name?” Mordred looked over at Arthur, who looked about as stiff and fidgety as Mordred felt before he grinned wickedly, fangs finally letting themselves slide down.

“Mordred.”

The next thing Mordred knew, Arthur’s hand was fisting his shirt and his body was being jerked upwards. Mordred felt his shirt tearing more than he heard it but he couldn’t check since Arthur’s furious eyes drilling into his own even though both of their expressions were neutral.

“What? I want to make sure I’m not in bad shape. Can’t I make sure of that?” Mordred asked, tilting his chin upwards as the nurse behind the counter stood and rushed out into the waiting room. She didn’t interfere.

“The only thing you can be sure of is how dead you’re going to be once I’m done with you.” Arthur’s tone was icy, and it made Mordred clench his jaw, his own anger beginning to catch up with him. He was playing the victim here! Like he always did! As long as he was the perfect and good boy that he made himself out to be, Arthur didn’t care who got left in the mud, did he? One of Arthur’s friends, who Mordred recognized as someone he’d spoken to before...Merlin...pulled Arthur away from Mordred.

“Let’s take this easy, Arthur.” He said, patting Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur shoved him to the side, so that Mordred’s back was to the rooms and the rest of the office. Merlin sat Arthur down in a chair. “She’s asleep. It would be bad if she woke up.” Arthur took a deep breath, not looking at Mordred. That wasn’t good enough for Mordred. He really wanted people to see Arthur for who he truly was, and it wasn’t a goody-goody boy from a teenage girl’s dreams. Mordred decided to push more of his buttons, to _really_ get under his skin.

“She? You wouldn’t mean a purple haired girl, would you?” He asked. “I think one from my group was the one that got her. Came back feeling _sooo_ full, and she told us how good--” Mordred cut himself off when he felt two things: Arthur’s glare and something pressing against the back of his head, under his ponytail. Mordred already knew what it was, but the sound of the safety clicking was enough to confirm it. The others that Mordred was facing were looking behind him with concealed shock.

“No...turn back…” The nurse begged quietly. That nurse wasn’t behind the counter to protect whoever was behind him, and he could easily tear them apart. Mordred’s fangs throbbed at the thought. His next meal came right to him, and he was gonna eat it all up right in front of Arthur, who was so _desperate_ to stay human. Mordred grinned evilly, wetting his lips before he spoke.

“A gun? Lead bullets can’t hurt me.” The voice of a woman filled his ears, and she said something that completely caught Mordred by surprise.

“Maybe not, but silver bullets can.”


	15. Monday Night (cont.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> okay so gil and ozy suck face in the beginning of Ozy’s POV just as a heads up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates will be a little slow bc I’m back to school now so sorry in advance, but i hope y’all had a happy new year

**night.**

Nightingale could be described as a ton of things.

Caring, stern, kind, brave, selfless. Nightingale was strong; and that meant physically, mentally, and emotionally. She was an ex-soldier who witnessed the death of her ten year old cousin, after all. The fact that she experienced enough trauma and was still able to live looking as though nothing happened was one of the wonders of the world. A lot of people in the city looked up to her, and they told her that to her face too. They called her an _angel_ , a guardian bestowed onto the city by God to heal and aid the ones that needed it. The city loved Nightingale, and Nightingale loved the city. However, if it’s one thing the deemed guardian angel _wasn’t_ , it was the fact that Nightingale wasn’t your typical person. Typical people believed that you woke up at 6 AM to go to work until 5 PM so that you could go home and take care of your family and pets before you went to sleep so that you can repeat the whole cycle all over again. Nothing would disrupt that cycle unless you decided to disrupt it yourself, because if something was to disrupt that cycle then it wouldn’t be normal. It would be unreal, and something that was unreal in a realistic world could only be fiction.

Nightingale didn’t believe in that though.

She didn’t believe in the fact that fiction was a nonexistent world that only existed in books. She didn’t believe that the strange and the typical shouldn’t mix. Nightingale believed that fiction was a world that existed within a world that people pretended was nonfiction. Normal people wanted to fool themselves and each other into thinking that the world was safe, but she knew better. To Nightingale, the strange existed because the world was typical. The abnormal existed because everyone else was normal. The unbelievable existed because “belief” was limited to opinion, not achievement. Safety only existed because people avoided the unsafe, and that’s what made people afraid. Not spiders, not heights, not clowns.

People were only afraid of whatever stopped their typical, uninterrupted, and safe daily cycle.

Nightingale couldn’t tell people what to think and believe in though, so she decided to help people if they ever got hurt while exploring the unknown because she definitely supported that. So if you asked if Nightingale judged people for the injures they came in with, the answer would be no. Nightingale wouldn’t judge someone if they ran into the doctor's office screaming about how Satan gave them a hellish disease or how they got struck by lightning. In fact, she wouldn’t even judge a little kid that believed that the Bogeyman existed since she believed that the unreal could be discovered at any moment. Nightingale didn’t believe that the abnormal was taboo like the rest of the city did. Nightingale believed in two worlds that melded together: the fictional and nonfictional.

Which was why she was in the situation she was in now.

Taking steady and calming breaths behind the mask over her mouth and nose as she held a gun against a stranger’s head, Nightingale could confidently say that she had just taken the biggest risk of her life. This was aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She could be thrown in _jail_ for this, but Nightingale stood firm. Mash, a girl with an entire future ahead of her, and Roman, a man that had just as much of a resolve to heal people as Nightingale did, were in serious danger. Jail was a small price to pay. She would rather pull a gun on someone that turned out to be innocent than not pull the gun on someone who turned out to be a killer, or in a _group_ of killers according to the paper this morning. Nightingale’s heart was racing, and she had to admit she was worried. If all the killing sprees were caused by the same thing and the person in front of her was a part of the group that caused killing spree this time around, and Nightingale’s research after her cousin died wasn’t wrong...then Nightingale was sure of one thing.

The person—no, _everyone_ —in front of her was a vampire.

It wasn’t a surprise that the six watching her hold a person at gunpoint were vampires. She’d known for the longest time, but since they were secretive about it she was too. They dropped hints and did slight little things that gave themselves away. Ereshkigal wouldn’t ever touch silverware directly, they never ate around her, and they always talked in double entendres. Nightingale knew for such a long time, and she kept it a secret for them because she could tell that they didn’t want people to know. What Nightingale didn’t know was that she could have been sheltering monsters the whole time, and that they could’ve been the vampires responsible for the murders for the past few days. The thought made her sick to her stomach, and she wanted to yell and scream. She kept herself composed since there were two innocent lives in danger. Her palms were sweaty, and she could feel the handle of the gun sliding against her palm. Nightingale felt the sweat on the back of her neck and her legs felt a little numb, but she urged herself to take slow and careful breaths so that she could talk this out smoothly.

In...out...in...out...

She could tell that mentioning the fact that she had silver bullets made the person in front of her tense up sharply, which was good. That meant it wasn’t one sided anymore, her life and the vampire’s life were both being put at risk. They were laughing in Arthur’s face when she walked in, but it didn’t seem that the situation was funny now that their life was in danger too. After a long, drawn out moment of silence, Nightingale spoke.

“Put your hands up.” She said cautiously. The person in front of her let out a nervous chuckle, putting up their hands where Nightingale could she them. “Now don’t move or else I’ll shoot.”

“That’s not good. I have somewhere to be.” They said.

“Nightingale, hang on—” Ishtar started, walking towards her.

“I said not to move.” Nightingale said sharply, giving her a sideways look. “I’m not as soft as you think I am. I won’t hesitate to point this gun at you too.” She looked around at everyone with narrowed eyes. Nightingale really liked Ereshkigal’s friends--she _trusted_ them and welcomed them all into the office on a daily--but it seems she made a terrible mistake.

“You won’t move that gun away from me, you’re too smart to do that.” The person in front of her spoke quietly, but she could hear the smile on their face. Nightingale tightened her grip on the gun. They were right. If Nightingale pointed the gun at someone else, they would turn around and end her life in an instant. That’s _if_ the others in the room weren’t going to protect her because they were killers too.

“Don’t sound so confident.” She said bitterly. “Shooting you first before I point the gun at someone else is something I can do.”

“You don’t want to kill me.” The person replied.

“Yes I do. I know what all of you are. Your kind killed a ten year old child with a whole life ahead of her.” Nightingale spat. “Your kind almost killed a girl who wanted more than to make her friend happy after your kind killed his sister.” Her voice was thick with anger, and she only got angrier when she knew the person in front of her was smiling.

“You sound like you know what’s going on. If that’s the case then you must know how a nest works, right?”

Nests…Nightingale had read about those while researching vampires after her cousin died. They were a group of five to ten vampires that were supposedly all close friends. They were protective of each other and very protective of the people they held close.

But mostly protective of each other.

Nightingale read that they trusted each other with secrets they couldn’t tell humans, like what they ate or how they became a vampire in the first place. She saw that arguments or betrayals were settled in a pretty civil way, maybe just a little hissy fight with a little claws and teeth but that’s all. What the person in front of the gun was trying to remind her of, though, was the fact that vampires did the most barbaric and terrible things when something happened to one of their nest members. They could kill large amounts of innocent people in the most brutal way possible or track and wipe out the nest responsible for hurting or killing that member. If Nightingale thought the way people were being killed _now_ was absolutely gruesome, it would be thousands of times worse if it was because a part of a vampire’s nest got hurt or killed. Just remembering the things that she read made a chill go down Nightingale’s spine.

“I’ve heard of them.” Nightingale answered the person’s question grimly. She heard the person in front of her laugh slyly, like they knew what Nightingale was thinking. She focused more on her breath again.

In, out...in, out…

“If you kill me, my nest won’t let you live.” The vampire said, a sinister tone in their voice. “Those five will hunt you down, day and night, until they find you. Even if you run to another city or country, they’ll follow you until you’re dizzy, and when they find you, they’ll take their time in torturing you before they break all of your bones really slowly. They’ll take your heart and throat and save it for a snack before they’ll suck your entire body dry. Then they’ll find anyone you’ve ever loved and do the same thing to them.” Nightingale clenched her jaw, but held the gun steady, feeling a little triumphant despite everything she just heard. The person was in a nest of six. Ereshkigal, Ishtar, Gilgamesh, Ozymandias, Merlin, and Arthur were all in one nest, which meant this vampire wasn’t a part of their nest. It ruled out the fact that the ones she thought trusted were the killers. That didn’t mean they were off the hook, though, since both nests could be working together. Nightingale needed them to say it themselves. That’s how she would know the truth.

“So you admit you’re one of the six people responsible for the killings lately, and one of them was already seen by Arthur.” She said. The person in front of her seemed to freeze, seeming to realize they just gave themselves away, but then they relaxed, nodding in slight defeat.

“Yeah.”

It was silent after that. Knowing that bit of information made her angry, and she had to make sure her breathing was quiet.

In, out, in, out...in, out, in...

Nightingale hated vampires after what they did to her cousin, and the vampire just admitted that their nest was attacking this city now. She had every reason to shoot the vampire in front of her, but no, she had to stay calm. Nightingale needed all the vampires to talk. The more they talked, the more they spoke the truth, or at least half of it.

“So then, is your nest the one responsible for the one that attacked this city a while ago?” She asked, forcing herself to stay calm.

“Not really, it was more like we were recommended to come here by that nest.” They answered. “I’m glad we came. They weren’t lying when they said the people here were good. Especially the younger ones.” Nightingale grit her teeth so tightly together it hurt. “Kinda makes you angry enough to shoot me doesn’t it?” Nightingale saw right through that comment. She’s played this game before, it was reverse psychology. They _wanted_ her to shoot them so that their nest could kill her. Nightingale played along, coaxing more words from the vampire.

“You have no idea.” She stated.

“Nightingale...” Ozymandias started, his tone sounding like he was trying to warn her.

“Put the gun down and think about what you’re doing. He’s not joking about what his nest can do to you.” Gilgamesh said what Ozymandias didn’t, but Nightingale was stubborn. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

“Defending him isn’t really helping your case.” Nightingale snapped before looking back at the vampire again. “I don’t care about what happens after I shoot. It’ll be one person down from a group.” Nightingale needed Mash, Ritsuka, their family, and Roman to stay safe. If she had to die for them, it wasn’t a problem.

“Are you sure?” The person in front of her asked. “You sound a little bold, but you’re afraid, aren’t you? You’re heart rate says it all.” Nightingale wanted to laugh. She wasn’t scared, just nervous and worried. Nervous that Mash might wake up or Roman might walk back into the office, and worried that if she died, those two would both be in danger. She’s been in worse physical and emotional pain before, like when she was shot and like when she was held hostage back when she was in the military. Nightingale’s had her bones broken slowly before. She’d been tortured into giving information before. If she was brave enough for that, she was brave enough for this.

“No.” She shifted her finger on the trigger so that she could pull it properly when she had to. “It takes a lot more than that to scare me.” She then looked at the others. “The rest of you better start talking, because I’ve got just enough bullets for everyone here and ten years of military shooting. I can either empty the gun or put it away.”

“Mordred is the only bad guy here, Nightingale. He’s with the killers.” Arthur said quickly. “We’re all on your side.” Nightingale felt a little relieved at that, but then she was skeptical again.

“How do you know him?”

“I used to trust him.” Arthur said, not looking at anyone. It made Mordred scoff, but the reply was enough for Nightingale to get the point. Arthur and this Mordred person weren’t on the same side. Maybe they were before, but they aren’t anymore.

“We don’t have a lot of time, the others are two blocks down.” Merlin said.

“Others? Like Gawain and them? You’re smart, Arthur, keeping them in your sight so you can turn them the way I turned you.” Mordred had a mocking tone in his voice, and Nightingale raised an eyebrow. This was the vampire that turned Arthur? Then weren’t they supposed to be close? The article Nightingale read said that a vampire that turned a person usually stuck around taught that person how to...well, be a vampire. “Who knows, if you won’t turn them then I’ll do it myself. It’s not like I have anything to do anyway.” Arthur looked enraged, but Nightingale nudged the back of his head with the gun gently, needing to calm down a situation that was getting heated too fast.

That was when the person began to move.

Nightingale tensed, watching the person intently as she thanked whatever God that existed that she decided to cover her face and head before she arrived. Nightingale didn’t want the vampire to know what she looked like since she knew their memory was incredible. Mordred turned around and looked at her, his hands still up by his head, and Nightingale placed the gun’s nozzle right in between his eyes. She didn’t need to look down to see the sharpness of his fangs peeking past his lips. Nightingale took deep breaths as she felt herself become as still as a statue.

I-in, out...in, ouu-uuut...

Neither one of them dared to break eye contact, knowing that if they did it would mean they were distracted, and that would instantly kill them. Green eyes stared into her narrowed brown ones, and she stared right back, neither of them saying anything. Nightingale knew that he was able to manipulate her the way Mash was manipulated into forgetting what happened to her, and she mentally prayed that he wouldn’t. She wet her lips and spoke, her voice coming out surprisingly even.

“Leave.”

It was all Nightingale said. One word, and it made the vampire move one of his hands to hold her wrist, tapping her skin with his fingers playfully. Nightingale didn’t flinch or show any signs of discomfort, but on the inside she was anxious. She breathed slowly, her breath a little shaky.

I--out...in,out...in, ou--in...

“Hmmm. Your pulse picked up a little. Maybe you aren’t as stone faced as I imagined. Then again, I can’t see your face.” Nightingale didn’t say anything, so Mordred continued. “I can break your wrist to leave you with something to remember me by. A little parting gift so that you know not to put yourself in an argument between vampires.” That only made Nightingale smile. It would be a declaration of war, if attacking Mash wasn’t one already. All the others in the room would be at his neck as soon as he did as something as simple as move her wrist from where she wanted it.

“You won’t hurt me, you’re too smart to do that.” Nightingale stated, quoting what he said earlier. Mordred looked surprised for a second, but his lips curled upwards into a cruel smile as he tilted his head and tightened his grip around her wrist almost painfully. Nightingale had to use all of her willpower not to wince as Mordred leered at her.

“Maybe I’m dumb enough for my hand to slip.”

Nightingale held her breath.

If he did that, then the commotion of vampires attacking each other would definitely wake up Mash or alert Roman. Mash was going to be allowed to go to school soon, Roman said the day after tomorrow or so. Roman and Merlin had gotten close the past couple of days. Their lives couldn’t end so abruptly. Mordred laughed, enjoying the fact that he backed her up into a corner. Out of her peripheral vision, she could tell that others’ eyes were glued to Mordred’s hand, waiting for him to do something wrong.

“Nightingale, was it?” He asked, looking at her seriously now. “Don’t involve yourself in this. The only things humans are good for is stuffing their bellies so they can stuff mine.” He was looking at her seriously now. “I’ll leave now, but if I see you again I won’t be playing the easy way. I’ll be eating you for dinner.”

Then he left.

Mordred walked out of the office before disappearing into the night. Nightingale waited for a minute longer in the silence of the waiting room before she huffed out the breath she was holding, covering her eyes with her free hand as she dropped the arm holding the gun. She looked down at the ground with eyes wide with disbelief, her breath coming out in short, quiet gasps. Her whole arm was aching after how long she was holding the gun up as well as the tight grip Mordred had on it. Nightingale rubbed her face and took a deep breath before she made sure the safety of the gun was back in its normal position as she put it back in its hollister. She felt victorious, and even though she didn’t even do anything crazy, she still felt _exhausted_. She turned around and walked behind the desk as she took off her hood and mask with a sigh. Merlin was the first to break the silence.

“Are you feeling alright?” He asked. Nightingale didn’t know how to answer the question, so she decided to be honest.

“My wrist is fine. I’m just dehydrated, that’s all.”

“Good. Then I’m going to go follow him and make sure he doesn’t make a wrong move.” Merlin replied. Nightingale knew “wrong move” referred to hurting Roman or Ritsuka’s group. She nodded, and Merlin left, leaving everyone else to sit in silence again. Ereshkigal spoke next, deciding to address the elephant in the room as soon as possible.

“Nightingale, we had to keep it secret. Anyone could just blame us for the murders.” She sounded apologetic, but Nightingale wasn’t mad or upset. Not even disappointed. She just felt...relieved and happy that they weren’t the ones behind the murders. Nightingale smiled at her from behind the desk as she decided to get a drink of water.

“I know.” She said, walking over to the mini fridge.

“How long have you known?” Gilgamesh asked.

“Long enough. I just figured that because you didn’t say anything I wouldn’t either.” Nightingale said, and it was the first time in all the time she’d known them that she’d seen grateful expressions on their faces.

“Thank you, for not telling anyone and for dissolving the situation the way you did. It wouldn’t have been very good if I handled it the way I planned to.” Arthur laughed helplessly, scratching the back of his head. Nightingale decided not to think too much about what he had planned and decided just to end the conversation.

“I’m just glad Mash and Roman are still out of it.” Nightingale replied before she grabbed a bottle of water and sat down with another sigh. They all sat in a comfortable silence for a little before she heard the door to the office open again. When Nightingale peeked up from the counter, she saw Rituska walking in with Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan. They were all laughing, and Tristan patted Ritsuka’s back happily. It seemed they had a good time, and they were all safe too. Suddenly, it was like everything that had just happened with Mordred never happened. Ozymandias and Arthur greeted the three adults with smiles, and Ereshkigal and Ishtar walked to greet Ritsuka.

“We just bought the weirdest cake ever.” Ritsuka said, drawing it out with fingers to show Ishtar as he laughed breathlessly.

“That’s great! I’ll go get Roman and wake up Mash.” Ereshkigal said cheerfully, walking to the back while Nightingale smiled at the three men that waved at her. She unscrewed her water bottle as she turned her back to the group in the waiting room. Nightingale couldn’t help but think back to the whole situation that just happened. Mordred’s green eyes, his fangs, the strong grip on her wrist. His words repeated over and over in her head.

_“Maybe I’m just dumb enough for my hand to slip.”_

Mordred knew Arthur’s group would’ve done something if he hurt her, but he didn’t care. He could’ve killed her right there, because even if the other vampires _wanted_ to do something, it would be too late. He was right there, a foot in front of her, close enough to shove his hand through her chest faster than she could blink, but he let her go. Not because he was cornered by the gun, not because there were six people that would have done God-knows-what if he killed her, but because he wanted to show how much of an upper hand he actually had over her.

Mordred let her go because she was human.

Nightingale brought her water bottle up to her lips, but she couldn’t bring herself to drink. She placed the bottle on the desk and decided to eat instead, but she couldn’t do that either. When Nightingale checked to see what was bugging her, she had to stifle the wry laugh that threatened to slip past her lips.

Nightingale’s hands were shaking.


	16. Tuesday Morning

**morning.**

“You saw...a were-person?”

Sherlock and Moriarity looked at the sixth witness in two days, a little girl tightly gripping a teddy bear who looked pretty delirious. It was another attack that happened last night, and Moriarity had even said it himself: he had no idea what those killers could be thinking, killing four people in one day and then having the gall to kill one more the day after. In front of a little girl, no less. Sherlock had no idea how she survived. Arash had told them that the girl, Abby, was found screaming in front of the supermarket after she saw the attack by the owner of the supermarket, who Sherlock and Moriarity already interrogated. He said that he saw the person too, but they left really quickly. The owner could only give them a vague description, and Sherlock thought it was enough to go by, but Moriarity insisted that the girl could have seen something important.

“Yeah! Mr. Detective, he was scary!” Abby nodded frantically before holding up her hands in a claw like gesture and making a growling face. “He had claws and sharp teeth, and his eyes were weird too!” Sherlock wanted to end the interrogation and send the girl home before they wasted any more time, but Moriarity stopped him.

“What do you mean by weird, Abby?” He asked.

“They were bright...and they reminded me of the glow sticks Uncle Carter got me and Lavinia in the summer!” Abby said. Moriarity gave Sherlock a knowing look, making him roll his eyes.

“Do you remember what color they were?” Abby thought hard for a few moments as Sherlock shook his head impatiently. Moriarity was pushing to get facts Sherlock knew weren’t going to be right. Abby looked to be about twelve--not even, maybe ten--years old, and Sherlock knew that kids these days didn’t see things the way adults did.

“Purple.” Abby stated. “His eyes were purple.”

Like he was saying, the facts weren’t going to be accurate.

“Really? And what about his hair?” Moriarity seemed like he was onto something, but Sherlock wasn’t seeing it.

“It was light colored hair, but I couldn’t see it clearly past his hood.” She described. “There was a mean person that hurt Mr. Hopkins, and almost came and hurt me, but then that man saved me!” _That_ was something.

“He saved you? How’d he do that?” Sherlock asked. Abby talked while making large gesticulations with her hands.

“The mean person hurt Mr. Hopkins then started to run towards me, but then that man came out of nowhere and pushed them really far away!” So Abby was going to get hurt by one of the killers, then a man appeared out of nowhere and shoved the killer away a really large distance.

Just like what happened with Mash.

Finally, something that Sherlock could use! There was a connection between both attacks, that meant that both Arthur and the person who saved Abby could already know each other.

“What happened after that?” Moriarity asked.

“I screamed. That mean person was gonna hurt me and that man looked really mad, so I got scared and yelled for help.” Abby answered. Sherlock quirked his eyebrow. She got scared of the person who saved her because they looked mad? Even a six year old would know better than that. It was dark out, so maybe the glowing eyes scared her...but wait a minute. Did _both_ of the people have glowing eyes? Sherlock thought she was only describing the killer.

“Abby, did both of them look scary to you? Did they both have sharp teeth and claws and glowing eyes?” Sherlock asked, leaning forward. Abby nodded, her bottom lip quivering a little.

“Yeah, Uncle Carter wouldn’t believe me when I told him. Only Lavinia did, and she told me I didn’t have to be afraid anymore.” Sherlock frowned. It didn’t make any sense. Both suspects were of the same...kind, but one saved Abby and fought the one trying to hurt her. “It looked like they were wrestling, and they tried to bite and scratch each other too.”

“Okay so the person that saved you is the one that had purple eyes and light hair under his hood.” Sherlock confirmed, making Abby nod. “So what did the person that attacked you look like?”

“Blonde hair and green eyes.” Sherlock remembered Arthur having blonde hair and green eyes. He might be a suspect, as ludicrous as it sounded. The man was incredibly nice and polite, it was hard to imagine him attacking a child since he saved Mash a couple of nights ago. “But they were short. Probably as tall as that cabinet there.” The cabinet was five feet tall. Arthur wasn’t that short, he was almost as tall as Sherlock, so it couldn’t have been him. That was a relief. Arthur made the best margaritas, and it would be a shame if he wouldn’t be able to make them anymore because he was in prison.

“How fast did the store owner come to help you after you screamed?” Moriarity asked.

“Really fast. He came out from behind the store and picked me up and rushed me into the store before he called the police.”

“So you were outside waiting for your Uncle and Lavinia until they paid for groceries before all of this happened.” Moriarity clarified. Abby nodded, holding her teddy bear tightly as Sherlock inhaled deeply and smiled at her comfortingly.

“Thank you for being so honest Abby, you can go back to your Uncle and Lavinia. Just be careful at night from now on.” He said. Abby nodded and she left quickly. Moriarity and Sherlock looked at each other before Sherlock shook his head.

“There’s only a couple of things that add up.” He said. “Abby was rescued the same way Mash was. So Arthur and the person that saved Abby might know each other.”

“The person that saved Abby behaved the same way as the person that attacked her, so all three of them could know each other. They could be helping each other out.” Morarity said.

“But Arthur and the one who saved her obviously aren’t on the same team as the one who , per se.” Sherlock said. “They can’t be helping each other if they’re fighting.” Moriarity hesitated, seeing what he was trying to say.

“Then what? Arthur and the person that helped Abby already know what’s going on?” He asked. Sherlock nodded.

“It’s an assumption, but they seem pretty informed. If they weren’t, then we would have two more dead victims: Mash and Abby.”

“So then they’re connected to the case. It would make them suspects.”

“Exactly.” Sherlock stated. “What information did you write down about Arthur when we interrogated him?”

“Apart from his side of the story, he’s the bartender and he knows all the professionals in the city minus the nurse and the florist, who’s his roommate.” Moriarity looked at him. “Could that entire group be informed too? They weren’t exactly Mash’s relatives, so there wasn’t really a need for them to be there.” Sherlock stood and put on his coat.

“There's only one way to find out. Let’s go.” He said, making Moriarity gape at him.

“You’re kidding. Are you planning to just ask them flat out? We don’t even know who saved Abby!” Sherlock scowled at his partner, who was being annoying at the moment.

“I’m not stupid. We won’t ask them to their faces yet.” He crossed his arms as he shut his eyes with a sigh. “We’ll ask around. I’ll call Arash and get Arthur’s address for when we decide to interrogate both of them again, in the meantime we can check the bar and doctor’s office.”

“That’s a waste of time! Literally nobody knows who he is apart from the fact that he’s the bartender!” Sherlock gave him an amused look. It seems like Moriarity was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

“What if someone knows more? Like his friends?” Sherlock asked, quirking an eyebrow. Moriarity hesitated, wearing a defeated grimace as one of his eyebrows twitched before he huffed out a sigh and out his jacket on.

“I’m not paying for drinks this time, Holmes.”

**afternoon.**

“You look so much better when you’re marked up.”

Ozymandias leaned forward and began to kiss a column up Gilgamesh’s neck as the blonde’s hands flattened over his bare chest. He had been waiting a long time for them to finally have some alone time together. Between trying to find the other nest, all the attacks, and piles upon piles of paperwork from their jobs, the two could barely sneak in a kiss or two between tasks. It was good that the birthday party the boy had was short, but then Merlin went missing, so they spent last night looking for him. It made Gilgamesh clingy for attention, so much so that Ozymandias walked into their apartment to find Gilgamesh wearing nothing but one of Ozymandias’s oversized shirt.

And that’s what led to the situation they were in now.

Gilgamesh pulled Ozymandias’s face up and crushed their lips together in a bruising kiss. He was impatient, but not like he always was. Today, Gilgamesh only wanted Ozymandias, and he wasn’t going to interrupt this time with him even if the world was ending. If he wanted it, he’d better bet his ass he was going to get it. Ozymandias pulled away from Gilgamesh’s lips to kiss at his neck again, holding Gilgamesh’s wrists tightly in one hand as he sucked at one of Gilgamesh’s sensitive points. Gilgamesh gasped quietly when Ozymandias bit down at the same place, squirming under his ministrations.

“Keep still.” Ozymandias muttered against pale skin, earning a breathy laugh from Gilgamesh.

“I can’t help it. It’s been _ages_ .” Gil sighed at the last bit when Ozymandias slotted himself in between his legs. Ozymandias flicked at a nipple absentmindedly, making Gilgamesh suck in a breath that sounded like a cute _hic_.

“You’re unbelievable, but I’ll indulge you.” Was all Ozymandias said before he kissed Gilgamesh again, reveling in the satisfied moan he earned from the blonde.

But then he heard a soft knock on the door

He moved away from Gilgamesh with a grimace, wondering who would want to interrupt them at a time like this. Gilgamesh pulled him down again and kissed him roughly, trying to pull him back to the task at hand but Ozymandias pulled away so that he could speak.

“There’s someone at the door.” He murmured, running a hand up Gilgamesh’s bare thigh. Gilgamesh simply pulled him closer and moved his hips against Ozymandias’, making a soft sigh tumble out of his mouth.

“They can wait. I want you now.” The words mixed with his actions almost made him want to stay, but Ozymandias heard the voices at the door and recognized them as the detectives that interrogated Mash and Arthur two nights ago.

“I’ll be quick. Just wait here.” Gilgamesh huffed, but allowed him to move so that he could answer the door. Ozymandias grabbed his shirt and put it on quickly as he fixed himself in the mirror. He retracted his fangs and made sure he looked presentably human before he walked to the door. Ozymandias could hear their hushed conversation as he neared the door, and he paused as he moved to grab the doorknob.

 _“They probably aren’t here, Holmes, they’re the owners of the bank and Capture Co. after all. They’re going to be busy.”_ Ozymandias stood deadly still in front of the door and listened as their conversation continued.

 _“Hush. If there’s any way we’re going to see if Arthur and the people who saved and attacked Abby are related at all, we need to see if his pals are just as informed as he is. If any of them are informed at all.”_ So the police suspected that Arthur and the rest of the nest knew more about the killings than they did. Which was okay, since he and Gilgamesh could tell half truths about it all, but if they suspected them about the killings then it wouldn’t be good. The detectives knocked on the door again, this time much firmer than the first. Ozymandias wanted to wait until they left, but he had a bad feeling about that.

_“Forget it, they aren’t here.”_

_“I called into both of their offices, and they weren’t there. If they aren’t there then the only other place they could be is the doctor’s office, and if we go there and see they aren’t there, I don’t think--”_ Ozymandias decided he had heard enough, so he opened the door with a stern look, making the both of them blink in surprise.

“Gentlemen.” Ozymandias acknowledged, looking back and forth between the two.

“Ahaha, Mr. Ozymandias. Do you have a moment?” The one he remembered as Moriarity asked.

“Not really. Is it something important?”

“Yes. All is well, but if Mr. Gilgamesh is with you also, then we’d like to talk to both of you about the recent killings.” Sherlock answered. Rejecting their request wasn’t an option, so Ozymandias allowed them in carefully.

“Come in and have a seat. I’ll go get Gilgamesh.” He said, walking back into the apartment and pointing to the sofa as the two detectives followed him inside. Ozymandias heard them sit down as he walked back into the bedroom with a serious face. He already knew Gilgamesh had heard everything, but Ozymandias wanted to see him anyway. Gilgamesh was fixing the pair of pants he put on in front of the mirror when Ozymandias walked into the room, so he walked over to him and pulled his lover close, resting his chin on Gilgamesh’s shoulder before he kissed softly at his neck.

“They’re onto us.” Gilgamesh spoke very quietly so that the two outside wouldn’t hear him, but Ozymandias could hear him as clear as day. Ozymandias nodded, looking at their reflection in the mirror. Gilgamesh didn’t look as abrasive as he usually did, he was quiet and he had a neutral expression on his face.

Gilgamesh was worried.

“They don’t suspect us for the killings, they just think that we know more to the story than they do.” He explained, his voice whisper quiet. Not even that, he was breathing out the words ever so lightly. “All we have to do is make it seem like we don’t know anything, which we don’t. We don’t know four people from the other nest, so technically we don’t know anything." Gilgamesh nodded, understanding what Ozymandias was saying. Ozymandias took Gilgamesh’s hand in his and squeezed it gently. “We aren’t guilty. We have nothing to worry about.” Gilgamesh nodded quietly, turning around and looking into his eyes. Ozymandias leaned down and kissed him softly before he lead them both out of the room. The men were silent for the entire time Ozymandias was in the room, and both detectives stood when the two appeared. They all shook hands, and he noticed how Gilgamesh was careful as he shook hands with the two detectives so that he didn’t crush their hands in his grip. It was understandable, since the hardest thing for a vampire to control (apart from their thirst of course) was their strength. Ozymandias couldn’t count the amount of times he accidentally crushed something in his hands because he wasn’t being careful enough with his hands. You see, two vampires shaking hands with each other wasn’t a problem, because the level of strength in both hands levels out. However, if a human and a vampire were to shake hands, the human’s hand would break like a toothpick. For vampires as young as Gilgamesh and Arthur, who were about four years into a _long_ life, it’s hard to control the new strength that they have. Ozymandias had been there when he was first turned, accidentally crushing bottles of wine and breaking glasses between his fingers. Not to mention the amount of times he used to shake hands with his clients and he would catch a glimpse of a wince on their faces because he was gripping their hands too tightly. It was a rough phase in the process of being a vampire, but it was one that only took six or so years to get a handle on. As they all sat down, Sherlock spoke.

“You may be wondering why we’re here, so we’ll start with that.” He said, rubbing his hands together. “After we talked to Arthur a couple of nights ago and after we met with a couple more witnesses, we think that Arthur may be connected to some of these murders that are happening in the city.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Gilgamesh said immediately. “Arthur can’t even reject a party invitation without feeling guilty, he would have confessed out of guilt ages ago if he was the killer.” Ozymandias patted his back in a ‘take it easy’ sort of gesture, he didn’t want things to escalate. The two detectives looked surprised at how fast he reacted, but they laughed it off.

“He’s no suspect, trust me. We just want to learn more about him because he didn’t give much information about himself when we interrogated him. Have you known him for a while?” Sherlock smoothed his way into asking about Arthur, and Ozymandias had the feeling this wasn’t going to be very easy.

“Just as the bartender up until four years ago. We always had deep conversations, so you could say our friendship grew that way.” He answered simply.

“Really? What caused you to get closer?” Moriarity asked. _Merlin kicking down the door his office with a freshly turned Arthur in his arms just as he was finishing the rest of his paperwork._

“He was going through a rough time in his life, so his roommate brought him to me for support.” Ozymandias was brief, he didn’t elaborate. He stated the truth without detail.

“Merlin, right? He took Arthur to you because he was struggling financially?” Sherlock seemed genuinely curious, and Ozymandias didn’t take that as a bad sign. It meant he was believing what Ozymandias said so far.

“Well, he was mugged, and this was before the doctor’s office was a 24 hour buisness. It was back when they closed at five.” He explained before he crossed his arms. “And Merlin can be a little on the dumb side, so he brought him to me.”

“Mugged?” Moriarity asked incredulously. “Was that during the time of the last killing spree?”

“Unfortunately.” Ozymandias nodded.

“Which is why he was so inclined to help you get information as well as help the girl.” Gilgamesh supplied. “He’d been through an attack before, and doesn’t want someone else to be attacked the same way.”

“Did Arthur know who attacked him?” Arthur had always told the nest that he couldn’t see who attacked him, but as of last night the nest figured out that was a half truth. Just because he couldn’t see who attacked him didn’t mean he didn’t know who they were. So the answer was a solid ‘yes’.

But not to Gilgamesh and Ozymandias.

If it’s one thing you have to know about vampires, apart from the fact that they drink blood for a living, it’s that they’re the smartest people you’ll ever meet. They find loopholes and hidden exits to _everything_ , since they’re creatures of stealth and deception after all. So instead of saying anything, Gilgamesh and Ozymandias both shook their heads instead of saying a verbal answer, knowing that if they spoke they would have to tell the truth.

“He couldn’t see them. He was attacked at night after all.” Ozymandias said, keeping a straight face as a smug feeling bubbled within him.

“Do you think that person who attacked him could be involved in the recent killing spree?” Moriarity asked.

“If they had a grudge against Arthur for surviving, but how common is it for someone to be mugged by the same person twice?” Gilgamesh said, quirking an eyebrow at the two detectives. They nodded, understanding his point.

“Now, just so that we know. A couple of our witnesses have told us that they’ve seen…” Sherlock took a deep and unimpressed breath. “Were-people. They’re described as people with sharp teeth, glowing eyes, and long nails--almost like claws. Have you heard about that recently?” They just heard it now, and now was pretty recent wasn’t it?

“We’re only hearing about it now.” Ozymandias said. “That sounds like something out of a teen’s novel.”

“Well, a ten year old witness described it that way.” Moriarity said with a chuckle. “She described two people, a person with blond hair and green eyes about five feet tall that attacked her…” Ozymandias immediately thought of the vampire from last night. It made sense, since certain feelings made a vampire feel thirstier for blood. Excitement, lust, annoyance, anger, hunger...Mordred could have felt any of those things in that entire talk with Nightingale, so he probably left and ate someone. “And a man with light hair and purple eyes that saved her. Do either of those descriptions sound familiar?”

“Arthur has blonde hair and green eyes, but he’s beyond taller than five feet and he wouldn’t hurt a child within a day of saving a girl in high school.” Gilgamesh stated.

“We thought the same thing, so he’s been completely ruled out as a suspect.” Sherlock’s heartbeat was steady as he spoke, and it didn’t falter or speed up. He was telling the truth.

“As for the guy with light hair and purple eyes…?” Moriarity asked. “When I saw Merlin the other day, he fit the description very well. He does seem like the kind of person that would save someone in danger.”

“Merlin was in the doctor’s office with us last night.” Ozymandias said, trying to steer them away from what they were thinking. Ever since Merlin left to go follow Mordred last night, he hasn’t called anyone from the nest and he never went home. Everyone was worried that something might have happened to him, but Merlin wasn’t _that_ dumb to attack the other nest on a whim.

“What for? He’s healthy isn’t he?” Moriarity pressed. Ozymandias bit the inside of his cheek, keeping a natural expression as he felt himself get irritated.

“Yesterday was Ritsuka's birthday, as the girl told you when you interrogated her. Since she wanted to surprise him with a party, but can’t because she’s still recovering, he offered that Arthur and Merlin go with the rest of the family to celebrate his birthday. Ereshkigal invited her sister and the both of us.” Gilgamesh explained all the points that he could, covering half of the truth and making sure he made it seem like none of the nest had anything to do with the murder last night.

“I see. He didn’t go straight home afterwards?” Sherlock asked.

“That’s something to ask Merlin.” Ozymandias stated before his phone rang. He checked who it was to find Ereshkigal calling. Good, Ozymandias had enough of these two _._ “I need to take this, is there anything else you need?” He asked, looking at them again. The two detectives stood, shaking their heads.

“No, thank you for your time.” Moriarity said. Gilgamesh led them out of the apartment as Ozymandias turned his back to the detectives and answered the phone.

“You’re timing couldn’t be more perfect.” He said.

“Really? What’s up?” Ereshkigal seemed worried. Ozymandias couldn’t blame her, it was hard not to be worried in a situation like this.

“The two detectives just left, they were asking about Arthur and Merlin.” She was silent for a second.

“I was just going to tell you. Merlin’s back, and Arthur’s pretty mad at him.” Ozymandias grimaced. “He saved a little girl last night and got into a fight with the vampire that was here last night, Mordred. He’s scratched up pretty bad, but there’s nothing terrible. Roman’s taking care of him now.” Ozymandias facepalmed. “They’ve gotten pretty close, Merlin and Roman, but Arthur’s really angry. It doesn’t help that Ishtar’s going to be out for the whole night either.”

“Tell him to cool it, we have enough problems on our hands right now.” He hissed. “The girl he saved told the detectives what she saw, and now the police know that something inhuman is attacking people. They’re onto both him _and_ Merlin.” Ereshkigal was stunned into silence before she spoke again.

“That _idiot_.”


	17. Tuesday Evening

**evening.**

“Mordred, you can’t be serious.” Cu said, narrowing his eyes.

“I thought I told you to be careful.” Diarmuid added, just as upset.

“I was, but then I saw Arthur.” Mordred replied, shoving his hands in his pockets annoyedly. “I couldn’t help anything after that.”

“You didn’t get in a fight with him, did you?” Yan Qing asked, tilting his head.

“I almost did, but then that stupid girl showed up.” Mordred grit his teeth angrily. “She had a gun loaded with silver bullets, and she was smart. She knows how to deal with people like us.”

“The other nest has a human ally?” Diarmuid asked. Mordred shook his head.

“They were just as surprised that the girl showed up as I was.” He said.

“That means she figured them out.” Shuten hummed. “What did you do?”

“I left. The entire nest was in the room. I wasn’t gonna test and see what that girl meant to them.” He stated.

“Oh boo. If you’re gonna get caught you should at least make it interesting.” Medb pouted.

“Well, I did go to eat after.” Mordred said. “But then Merlin showed up and stopped me from eating someone else.”

“So you fought him.” Cu stated. Mordred grimaced, pressing a thumb to the two bleeding parallel scratches on his face as he nodded.

“He doesn’t look like it, but the bastard knows how to put up a fight.” Yan Qing hopped down from where he was standing before he looked at Medb.

“Now what, princess? It’s all up to time now.” He said, crossing his tattooed arms.

“I’m thinking.” Medb snapped, giving him an annoyed look.

“We could just take care of them the next time we see them.” Shuten said.

“No, that’s too abrupt. They’re probably waiting for us to do that.” Diarmuid insisted. “Take out the human allies they might have instead. They could use them to get more information about us. Who knows, they could be using them already.”

“So the girl Shuten almost killed and the one who pointed a gun at Mordred?” Medb asked. “It’s just two humans, and we know where they both are--”

“No.”

Mordred cut her off, his teeth bared in a threatening growl. He didn’t really talk much about what happened, but whatever the girl said or did must’ve really rubbed him the wrong way.

“I don’t care what happens to Shuten’s girl,” He started. “But the girl with the gun is _mine_. I have a handful of bones to pick with her.” Diarmuid, Medb, Shuten, and Cu didn’t look too impressed, but Yan Qing grinned.

“Okay.” He said simply. “If Shuten wants to finish off her girl she can, the rest of us will make sure there aren’t any more hidden allies. Mo, you can take that girl for yourself. Eat her, torture her, hell--you can turn her if you want, but that’s on you.” Everyone knew the unspoken words behind that plan. Mordred was on his own with the girl. If he wanted to do something to her, he could, but the others weren’t going to help him if the nest attacked him first. Diarmuid sighed, standing up.

“It’s settled. We’ll meet back here at dawn. Don’t go crazy.”

**night.**

“Here you go. Have a great night, and be careful out there. You don’t know what could happen.”

Kingu took their bag of dinner from the fast food food worker with a quick thanks before they walked outside, skateboard in hand. Enkidu was waiting for them and Gilgamesh at their apartment so that they could eat together, so Kingu was in a rush to get home. They called their twin, wanting to make sure they were alright. Ever since the incident, Kingu has been awfully weary of leaving Enkidu alone. They were a bit skeptical of this whole vampire nonsense, but Gilgamesh was still their best friend, Enkidu’s too. Kingu trusted him no matter what he was, and Gilgamesh to this day kept his promise of being careful with his thirst and keeping the twins safe. Even if there was a time where Gil wasn’t around to keep them both safe, Kingu had done enough research and took enough initiatives to know how to defend themselves and their twin against vampires. When Enkidu answered, Kingu heard shuffling on the other end before their twin spoke.

“Hey.” Enkidu said, sounding content.

“Hi, I picked up the sandwiches and I’m heading back now.” Kingu informed, looking at the bag they were referring to. “Did Gil get home yet?”

“Yeah, he’s in your room on your bean bag chair. He was telling me how the police interrogated him and Ozymandias so he’s going to talk with the rest of the nest and eat something before he gets here.” Kingu raised an eyebrow.

“The police? Did something happen?” They asked.

“Yeah, the one that turned Arthur showed up at the doctor’s office and almost got in a fight with Arthur. Nightingale was the one that stepped in and dissolved the whole thing.” Kingu gaped in disbelief.

“Nightingale?! I thought she didn’t know!” They said incredulously as they turned onto a particularly dark street.

“She figured them out a long time ago but didn’t say anything because she knew they were keeping it secret.”

“How did she handle it? She hates them because her little cousin, doesn’t she?”

“No, she was just relieved that they weren’t the ones killing people.” Enkidu said. “Which is good, because she knows a ton about vampires already. It’s kind of scary.”

“So then what happened after that person left?” Kingu asked, genuinely curious.

“Merlin followed them to make sure they weren’t going to attack Roman or one of Ritsuka’s family members.” Enkidu answered. “Then he got into a fight with the same vampire when he saved a little girl.”

“Merlin did? Is he okay?” Kingu was worried. Gil’s nest was really cutting it close weren’t they?

“Yeah, just a few scratches and cuts, but nothing terrible Gil said. Enkidu was quiet for a second before they spoke, their voice a murmur. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” Kingu didn’t know. Gilgamesh’s nest had pretty rough encounters with nests before and they shook it off, but the police never got involved. Especially if the police found them all guilty, Ishtar, Gilgamesh, and Ozymandias’s reputations would be absolutely ruined. Not to mention that Merlin, Ereshkigal, and Arthur all had occupations that made them pretty famous around the city. It was no wonder why both twins were so worried.

“I’m sure they’ll be okay, they’ve run into other nests before. Maybe they can work with the police this time and--”

Somebody suddenly dropped in front of Kingu, cutting their words off short.

“Kingu?” Enkidu’s tone was questioning on the other end of the phone as Kingu watched the person stand upright.

“I’ll call you back.” Kingu said absentmindedly, hanging up and moving the phone away from his ear. The person that had dropped out of nowhere was a shirtless man, and he had intricate tattoos all over his muscled chest and arms. His long black hair was tied back in a loose ponytail that hung all the way down to his calves, which were clothed in baggy sweatpants, and his yellow eyes gleamed with a predatory look. Kingu didn’t need anybody to tell him that the guy standing in front of him was a vampire. 

“Yo.” The man said simply, grinning down at Kingu, who grit their teeth. “I couldn’t help but throw my ear...but who did you say was going to work with the police?” The man took steps towards Kingu, and they took steps back, keeping the distance between the two equal as the man’s expression melted into a blank one. “They said not to go crazy when killing the ones that knew about us...but I don’t know if I can hold myself back now that I’ve gone a week without eating.” The man’s fangs glinted under the streetlamp as he spoke, letting Kingu get a good look at how sharp they actually were.

“Stay away from me.” Kingu said, dropping the fast food bag so that they could get a better grip on their skateboard.

“And let you run away after you saw me? No can do.” The man tilted his head. “But before I dig in, why don’t you tell me what you know about the other nest?”

“Never.” Kingu practically spat, putting their phone in their pocket. It wouldn’t matter whether or not Kingu lived after this, they still won’t be able to tell anyone what happened since they had a bad feeling about this.

“Don’t be like that, I’ll make death super fast and painless if you tell me. Nobody’s around here to hear you yell anyway.” The man said, smirking.

“I won’t.” Kingu insisted. The man’s grin disappeared, making Kingu tense and hold their skateboard at the ready. If they were going to die, they wouldn’t die without a fight. The man tilted his head and cracked his neck, not breaking eye contact with them.

“Shame, I’ll force it out of you then.” Was all he said before he lunged at Kingu, who immediately tensed up as the man attacked them from the right. Kingu held their breath and took a step back, grabbing their skateboard with both hands and swinging it at the man’s face while making sure the silver truck connected with the man’s skin. Kingu had built their skateboard with a silver truck as a precaution just in case something like this ever happened. The store owner had called them crazy for wanting a truck made of such a malleable material, but Kingu insisted that it had to be silver. Kingu whacked the vampire across the face, and the man recoiled, covering the side of his neck and his jaw with a wince. Kingu panted roughly, catching his breath as he watched the man feel where the silver burnt his skin.

“Silver, huh?” The man asked quietly, more to himself than to Kingu. “The other’s said not to go crazy, but now I’m pissed.”

Kingu blinked, and suddenly the man wasn’t in front of them anymore.

They felt their body being shoved against the building wall, a strong forearm pinning Kingu’s shoulders so that they couldn’t move their arms. Kingu felt pain in their chest, and they instantly knew that they had broken quite a few ribs. They grunted, struggling against the man’s iron grip.

“Let go of me!” Kingu clenched their jaw as the man leered at them.

“I don’t think I will.” He said. “What do you know about the other nest?”

“I won’t tell you!” Kingu managed before they felt a grip on their wrist. With a quick and effortless twist of the man’s free hand, Kingu felt a sharp pain sear up their entire arm. They cried out in pain, unable to move from under the grip of the vampire, who had a large grin on his face.

“I can end the pain now if you tell me. Where are they right now?” The man asked. Kingu pressed their lips together and shook their head firmly. The man kneed them in the stomach and punched them in the face. Kingu felt their head turn sharply with the force of the punch, and they sank to the ground, hugging their midsection and clenching their jaw as a wave of pain and nausea hit them.

“What are their names? I know Merlin and Arthur from Mordred. What about the others?” Kingu took shuddering breaths, but stayed quiet, glaring at the vampire that was looking down at them with bright yellow eyes. The vampire grabbed a fistful of their hair and stomped on their knee with a sickening _crack_ , and Kingu yelled out in agony as pain shot up and down their entire leg.

“How much do they know about my nest?” Kingu clutched his hurt knee, but kept their mouth shut. They had to endure it, to protect Gilgamesh--to protect _Enkidu_. The man swiped at Kingu’s chest twice with his claws, and pain bloomed there too. The warm and thick fluid coated Kingu’s thin shirt and drenched their entire body, turning them into a bloody mess in the alleyway. Kingu’s entire body felt numb, like the pain had just leveled out through their arms and legs to become the new typical feeling in their body.

“You look so nice in your own blood. Like red sauce on a meatball.” The man said, making Kingu give him another angry look. “Still won’t talk?”

“I’d...rather die…” Kingu spoke through labored breaths, feeling the side of their face swell up and their body temperature drop from the sudden lack of blood. The man crouched down, took another fistful of Kingu’s hair, and pulled them up so that they could look that the man’s eyes. Kingu shut their eyes quickly, not wanting the vampire to pull a hypnosis trick on them now. The man chuckled before Kingu heard a quiet and sinister voice right by their ear.

“You will.”

Kingu felt the vampire bite harshly at their neck and they flinched, the pain stinging really quickly before it numbed with the rest of their body. They struggled in vain to push the man off of them, but he wouldn’t budge. Kingu felt their energy being sucked right out of them, and their strength slowly faded. Soon the man let go and leaned his head back with a satisfied sigh before he stood up. Kingu played dead, hoping that the man would believe it so that he would leave and let Kingu die on their own. The man huffed out a satisfied laugh before he disappeared. Kingu waited a few more moments to make sure the man was completely gone before they shifted, pulling their phone out of their pocket and dialing Enkidu’s number. Kingu felt so cold, like it was still the middle of January. Or maybe it was January and they were actually warm the way they were now. Kingu couldn’t even tell anymore, but they were thrilled beyond words when they heard their twin’s voice on the phone.

“Kingu? Thank goodness you called. I got worried for a sec, is everything okay?” No. Everything was _not_ okay, but Gil needed to know that this happened. He would feel so guilty, but he needed to know so that he could protect Enkidu.

“No…” Kingu said weakly. “Enkidu...help me…” That was when Kingu’s world started to fade to black, and the last thing they could hear was Enkidu’s alarmed voice on the other end of the phone.

_“Kingu?! Kingu! Gilgamesh, come quick! Something happened to Kingu!”_


	18. Tuesday Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diarmuid and an unnamed girl get a little frisky just a heads up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is like 10k words long but it only has three sections *sobs*  
> Sorry for the late update. My family is going through a rough time so I don’t have internet at home to post. I’ll do the best I can in updating

**night.**

“Stop fidgeting.”

Roman pressed the disinfectant soaked cotton to the cut on Merlin’s cheek with a grimace, being careful not to miss any areas of the cut because an infection could be bad. Merlin had walked casually through the doors of the doctor’s office with cuts, scrapes, and bruises all over him a few hours ago, and Roman really wondered what idiot left Merlin by himself. At a time like this, walking alone at night was a death wish. It was simply suicide, but Merlin had still done it and got himself scratched up as a result. It was quiet as Roman moved to another cut on Merlin’s face, by his hairline, and he clicked his tongue when he saw that the cut had hints of an infection building around it. Even in the dark room, where the only light was from the fluorescent lights in the hallway, Roman could pick out the telling signs of an infection in a heartbeat.

“You’re not going to ask?” Merlin broke the silence as Roman soaked another cottonball in disinfectant. Roman gave him a confused look as he paused.

“Ask what? Why you can’t keep still for two seconds?” Merlin shook his head with a chuckle before he held Roman by the waist and slid him onto his lap so that both of his long legs rested on either side of Merlin’s body. Merlin looked up at Roman, who was without a doubt blushing furiously, and he smiled slightly, moving Roman’s hands so that they were resting on his shoulders.

“Is this better?” Merlin asked. Roman really couldn’t believe this guy and how bold he was being. With a clenched jaw and quiet sigh, Roman began applying the disinfectant to the cut. He tried to ignore how close he was to the man, and he almost succeeded too; but then he felt teeth graze his neck before soft lips caressed the same spot. Roman jumped, shoving Merlin away from him by the shoulders with a yelp as the man laughed.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” He asked, his voice between a whisper and a shout as he covered his neck.

“Just seeing how you would react.” Merlin answered with a sly grin.

“I’m trying to heal your face, idiot! Just stay still!” Merlin chuckled again and shook his head.

“You still haven’t answered my question, by the way.”

“You fixed the problem just fine.” Roman gestured to the not-so-subtle situation they were in, making Merlin laugh slightly.

“No, you’re not going to ask what happened?” Roman felt Merlin’s curious gaze on him as he carefully pressed on the cut with the cotton. He shook his head, sighing.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. As a doctor, it's not my business to ask what  _ exactly _ happens to patients, but…” Roman’s voice trailed off as he decided not to go any further. As a doctor, Roman didn’t really need to know what happened, but as...something else...he was worried when Ereshkigal said he went MIA for a whole day. Why was he worried though? They weren’t strangers...and they weren’t friends. They kissed in the rain for heaven’s sake! After they  _ literally _ just met! So what would that make them? When Roman told DaVinci, she was absolutely ecstatic and she told him not to worry about anything. She really couldn’t believe that Roman was already finding someone this early, but that was all the more reason for Roman to be hesitant. Merlin smiled knowingly at him.

“You were worried about me.” He stated, making heat rise to Roman’s face again.

“No I wasn’t.” It was an obvious lie, and Merlin’s smile widened. He hugged him, pulling Roman’s body close as he rested his ear against his chest. Roman was baffled, and he didn’t know where the hell to put his hands, so he settled for resting them on Merlin’s head of fluffy white hair. Roman looked down at Merlin with a soft expression on his face, noting how Merlin looked off to the side calmly, like he was in deep thought. Even though he had just met this man, Merlin made Roman feel safe; like he didn’t have to worry about the murders because Merlin would somehow keep him away from danger with that infuriatingly cheeky attitude of his.

“I just got in a little scuffle with someone. Nothing too bad.” Merlin reassured quietly.

“You were missing for a whole day, idiot.” Roman replied, just as quiet. Merlin chuckled helplessly before he looked up at him with those glowing lavender eyes. The light from the hallway made a nice contrast between the shade of the dark room and his pale skin. It was just like that evening when they met on the stairs of his apartment complex, he looked just as mysterious and beautiful as he did then.

“You’re right. Maybe I should have been out for two days.” Roman narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t you dare.” Merlin laughed again and kissed him quickly, making Roman’s brain stop all functions as he blushed for a third time. “Move so that I can get new bandages on your cuts.” He muttered. “This one’s already starting to get infected.” Merlin beamed at him as he moved away, and Roman picked up a couple of bandages with a red face before he began to place them over Merlin’s scratches.

“Not even a kiss to make it feel better?” Merlin asked with a lazy smile, not moving a muscle as Roman flattened the first bandage over the cut on his cheek. Roman scowled and shook his head.

“No way. Recover the same way Mash is.” Merlin pouted, but seemed content.

“Is she getting any better?” He asked after a moment, letting Roman apply a bandage to the cut by his hairline. Roman smiled to himself. Mash was recovering beautifully, and Roman had even told her that by the end of the week she could be free to go. She was in a deep sleep at the moment since Ereshkigal gave her a heavy dose of pain killer after Mash said she was in pain, but other than that, Roman and the two nurses did a fine job if he could say so himself.

“She’s going to be let out by the end of the week.” Roman informed, carefully placing the bandage over the infected cut. Merlin seemed surprised at the news.

“Already? Is she seriously that close to recovering?” He asked incredulously.

“Well yeah, I didn’t study medicine for nothing.” Roman answered, crossing his arms and giving Merlin a sideways look, making him smile reverently and nod. Roman liked the calm of the doctor’s office, it wasn’t as hectic as it was three or four nights ago.

Until now.

Merlin’s head suddenly whipped to the door before he stood sharply, startling Roman and almost throwing the poor doctor off his lap. Merlin caught Roman before he fell as he spoke.

“Sorry for shocking you, but there’s someone who needs your help more than I do.” Merlin said quickly.

“Roman! There’s an emergency! I’ll come to help you in a second but I need to get Nightingale from her house! Just do your best in healing Kingu until I come!” Ereshkigal’s call came two seconds afterward, making Roman rush to get a pair of gloves on before he ran out to see that Gilgamesh had dropped off someone. Roman pushed past Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu so that he could get a better look at the person on the bed. The one Ereshikgal called Kingu looked to be Enkidu’s twin, which was good, but all it took was one look and Roman knew that one of the killers had gotten to them too. Mash was one thing a couple of nights ago, but this was so much worse.

Kingu looked downright  _ awful _ .

Their head and neck were bleeding, and they had multiple gashes in an ‘X’ formation on their front. Their right arm was twisted in an unnatural way and their left knee was bent in a sickening fashion. Roman grit his teeth before he stepped forward and began to remove the person’s clothes, quickly picking up a needle and filling the syringe with morphine. He flicked the body of the needle to get the air out before he stuck it in Kingu’s arm. He then hooked up the heart monitor and got it running before he put an oxygen mask over their face and fired up the defibrillator. Roman hadn’t seen a heart rate this slow in a long time. He rubbed the two AEDs together with a clenched jaw before he pressed them to Kingu’s chest. Kingu seized and jolted sharply, and Roman glanced up at the heart monitor. No dice, their heart rate was still slow. He did the procedure again, but when Roman looked up at the heart monitor a second time, there wasn’t a change.

“Come on Kingu...give me a nice, strong heartbeat.” Roman muttered quietly, repeating the process a third time. They jerked sharply and relaxed, and when Roman looked up at the monitor, he was happy to see their heart rate picked back up into a safer zone. Roman could hear the exhales of relief from the two silently watching from a distance.

“Hey, is Kingu deficient in anything in their body?” Roman asked Gilgamesh and Enkidu, not looking up from the wounds that he was beginning to clean out with disinfectant as he kept his voice level.

“Why does that matter?” Gilgamesh snapped. It was understandable that he’d be upset that one of his friends were attacked, but knowing if Kingu was deficient in anything would tell Roman a lot of things. Iron deficiency can cause serious fatigue, which in Kingu’s case could knock them into a coma. Vitamin B-12 deficiency causes someone’s blood pressure to be constantly low, so it would explain the heart rate that was dangerously low a minute ago.

“Lots of reasons, they could already be dead if they’re deficient in zinc.” Roman stated. It was true, zinc deficiency slows down the healing process of an open wound. Wounds like the ones Kingu had would never heal if they were deficient in zinc. Roman didn’t mean to be harsh, but if he sugar-coated the truth then the two wouldn’t say anything.

“No...Kingu’s perfectly healthy. There isn’t anything wrong with them.” Enkidu said, sounding like they were going to cry. Roman nodded, and Gilgamesh pulled Enkidu away from the room. Roman operated as if he had someone telling him what to do; because if he didn’t follow those instructions, Kingu would die.

_ Stop the bleeding. _

Roman wrapped the Kingu’s head wound tightly with a roll of bandages before he taped a bandage to the wound on their neck and pressed firmly on it for thirty seconds. Two wounds down, six giant gaping ones to go. Roman picked up a clean rag before dampening it in water and cleaning around the wound gingerly, making the lacerations on their chest and stomach a little less of a bloody mess. Then, he felt around the cuts, judging how deep they were. As he felt around the cuts in Kingu’s chest, Roman could feel that they had multiple broken ribs and maybe even a punctured lung. Most of the cuts were moderately deep, but two of them were concerning.

_ Close the wounds with stitches. The ones that don’t go too deep can get normal sutures, but the ones that go deeper need dissolvable sutures from the inside. _

Roman opened the cabinet and pulled out the neat crate of string and looked for two rolls: vicryl, which would be used on the inside of Kingu’s body, and nylon, which would be used to stitch the skin together. Once he found the rolls, he pulled out a tray of curved surgical needles and rested them on the tabletop by the bed. Roman picked up the appropriately sized needle and held it in a needle driver before he threaded it with the vicryl thread, steadying his hands as he grabbed a pair of forceps and opened the cut wide enough for him to work. He saw the cut across the muscle and tissues, cringed slightly, and got to work, starting the first stitch before working his way up the deep cut in the red meat of muscle before he finished. Roman tied off the thread before wiping his sweaty brow with his sleeve. What was taking Ereshkigal and Nightingale so long?

_ Focus, idiot. They’re going to take a while since Nightingale lives far away. Just stitch up the other deep cut so that you can stop the bleeding for good. _

Roman took a steadying breath and threaded a new needle before he started up again, opening the second deep cut with the forceps and beginning to stitch the tissue and muscle back together. He took steady breaths, encouraging himself as he moved quickly to close the last stitch. The deepest and messiest part of the process was done! All he needed to do was stitch the skin back together, just like how he did with Mash two nights ago. Roman wiped his brow again before he threaded a bigger curved needle with the nylon thread so that he could attack the smallest of the six cuts first. He stitched it just as fast and efficiently as the two deep cuts, and soon enough all six lacerations were stitched up. Roman grabbed the wet rag and carefully cleaned around the stitched lacerations again before he took the big gauze and placed over all six cuts before he wrapped around them with a roll of big bandages. Then he looked at the clock. That had all taken almost an hour and a half to do.

_ There you go you smart devil, it’s all just broken bones from here. Who needs help when you’ve got years of surgical practice up your sleeve? _

Roman felt a little triumphant, and he gently took Kingu’s arm in his hands. He would probably need an X-ray to see what was really wrong with Kingu’s arm, and he couldn’t leave the room to go get the movable X-ray...even if it was a short time out of the room, anything could happen to Kingu in that time. It was right then where Nightingale and Ereshkigal read his mind and appeared.

“Oh my goodness, Roman. I’m so sorry I’m late, traffic was absolutely terrible at the worst time.” Ereshkigal apologized over and over again, but Roman simply smiled at her.

“Don’t worry about it. I managed to stitch them up and stop the bleeding after using the defibrillator.” He explained.

“You already gave them stitches?” Nightingale asked incredulously, putting on a pair of gloves.

“Yeah about 35 to 45 sutures for each laceration, and two lacerations reached the muscle and tissue. So I took care of those with the dissolvable vicryl string.” Roman said absentmindedly as he felt at Kingu’s ribs again. “I need the movable x-ray now to check out their arm, leg, and ribs. Based on Kingu’s breathing I think they might have a punctured lung.”

“Right, I’ll get the X-ray.” Ereshkigal said before she rushed to grab the equipment. Roman pulled a thick air tube out of the cabinet just in case it turned out that Kingu did have a punctured lung. He had dealt with plenty of them before. A punctured lung can be caused by an injury to the lung, like a gunshot or knife wound to the chest, rib fracture, or even certain medical procedures. In some cases, a collapsed lung is caused by air blisters that break open, but in all cases air is sent into the space around the lung, causing the body to have a huge space of air with a shrunken lung inside.

_ Make an air tube into the collapsed lung in order to take all the pressurized air out. _

Roman prepared the incision needle at the end of the thick tube before he pressed a button that allowed the chair to move upwards. He moved to check the monitor again, but he saw that their blood concentration was low. Roman frowned before looking at Nightingale.

“Is Enkidu in the waiting room?” He asked, and Nightingale nodded.

“Yes. They’re worried, but they’re patient.” She said.

“Good, call them back here. I’m gonna need a blood transfusion.” Nightingale nodded and left the room before Roman walked to the back cabinet of the room so that he could pull out a tray of metal pieces that he would need to operate on Kingu’s bones. Roman didn’t need to feel around their bones to know that Kingu’s bones were broken beyond Mash’s case. It wouldn’t just need a cast, it would need metal plates and screws too. Nightingale returned with Enkidu, and they frowned deeply when they saw their twin.

“If you give them some of your blood, Kingu has a chance. Are you willing?” Roman made it short and sweet, and so did Enkidu. They nodded vigorously and sat down on the bed next to Kingu as Roman and Nightingale wasted no time in setting up the transfusion. When Nightingale let the blood flow from one twin to the other, Roman watched the heart rate monitor carefully for anything else that was off, but he couldn’t see anything. It was silent as Ereshkigal rolled in the X-ray machine and set it up, but Enkidu broke the silence with a weak voice.

“Roman.” They said, making the doctor look at him curiously. “Are you going to be able to heal Kingu?” Roman was quiet for a second before he spoke.

“The hardest part has already been taken care of. Now it’s all injuries that I’ve dealt with before.” He said. “If I can’t heal Kingu, then I can’t call myself a doctor.” That seemed to convince Enkidu enough for them to sigh in relief, tears forming in their eyes as they spoke their next words quietly.

“Thank you.”

**midnight.**

“Gilgamesh, Dr. Roman helped Mash and she was hurt pretty badly, I think Kingu will be fine.”

Ritsuka felt like a broken record, repeating the same thing over and over again in order from stopping Gilgamesh from punching another hole in something. If the two holes in the brick wall of the abandoned building next door wasn’t enough to show people how pissed he was, Gilgamesh practically had smoke coming out of his ears as he paced back and forth in the waiting room of the doctor’s office.

“I knew I should’ve told Kingu to stay somewhere until I picked them up. I had a bad feeling ever since yesterday night.”

“It’s too late now. There’s nothing we can do now except wait for Roman to do what he can.” Enkidu said, a tired tone in their voice. Their eyes looked worn out and spent from crying for their twin. Enkidu and Kingu must have been really close for Enkidu to be this upset. He couldn’t blame them either, he had been in Enkidu’s shoes when Mash was attacked. Before Kingu was rushed in, Tristan, Gawain, and Lancelot all went home to rest up after a hectic week so that they could completely get back to the way things were. Ereshkigal was at the front desk as usual, and Nightingale was on her break. That left Ritsuka sitting in Mash’s room, making sure she slept soundly after Ereshkigal gave her that strong drug that put her to sleep, and Roman helping a scratched up Merlin in another room. Then suddenly, he heard the door burst open and someone was shouting for a doctor. Mash had stirred in her sleep, frowning deeply and asking what was going on. Ritsuka just smiled down at her, told her there was nothing to worry about, and made sure her blankets were warming her before he left the room, closing the door behind him. That was when he saw Gilgamesh and Ereshkigal storming by him, Gilgamesh with a badly injured Kingu in his arms as Ereshkigal called for Roman. Soon enough, the rest of the nest (with the exception of Ishtar since she was out for the night) were all in the waiting room of the office, trying to calm Gilgamesh down. He might be really angry now, but at the time he brought Kingu in, it was so much worse. Gilgamesh looked like he was just about ready to tear someone’s head off.

So you probably could say it had been a really rough night.

“Anyway, we can’t keep just sitting here being upset when the other nest is still out there killing people.” Arthur said, a serious tone in his voice.

“What is there to do?” Merlin asked. “We only know what they look like, and they’re so hidden we haven’t been able to track them down even though we’ve turned the city upside down.”

“Are you saying you’ve given up?” Ritsuka asked, not believing what he was saying.

“No, that’s not what he means.” Ozymandias shook his head as he crossed his arms. “They’ve only come to us so far. We haven’t been able to go to them a single time since the first attack.” It was quiet as Ritsuka nodded, but then Nightingale and Ereshkigal walked out from the back exhaustedly, helping Enkidu sit down by Ritsuka as everyone looked at them expectantly.

“Roman’s still working on Kingu’s bones, but he says he can’t be sure of what’ll happen until the surgeries are over.” Nightingale informed before she looked at Enkidu. “Thank you again for agreeing to give your blood.” Enkidu nodded with a tired smile. Ritsuka slumped. Looks like it would be another while before they all knew if Kingu would be okay. Ereshkigal looked around.

“Ishtar still isn’t back?” She asked. Everyone shook their heads and Ozymandias held up his phone.

“I sent her a message. She’ll be here as soon as she reads it.” Ereshkigal nodded before she sat down and looked at her hands.

“What are we going to do?” She asked quietly. “This is getting really bad.” Nightingale sighed.

“There’s no way one of the four vampires we haven’t seen yet attacked Kingu, they’d have to be really confident that they can get away with all of it otherwise.” Ritsuka quirked an eyebrow. Nightingale knew too? That was different, she would’ve dropped hints that she knew what they all were, and the nest wouldn’t have tried to hide it from her.

“You know what’s going on?” Ritsuka asked her.

“I’ve  _ known _ what’s going on. Since the end of the last killing spree.” She corrected. “I just didn’t tell anyone I knew.” Ritsuka resisted the urge to facepalm. Why didn’t he think of that?

“Anyway, the police is involved too.” Gilgamesh said, a sour look on his face. “Ever since what happened two nights ago, it’s gone downhill for us.” Ritsuka tilted his head. Two nights ago was his birthday, nothing seemed wrong before, after, or during the celebration...so he had no idea what Gilgamesh was talking about.

“Two nights ago?” Ritsuka asked. The vampires seemed to freeze at the question, and Ritsuka already knew what was up. That was a slip of the tongue wasn’t it? He wasn’t supposed to know something had happened. Ritsuka instantly turned to Enkidu. “What happened two nights ago?” They sighed, keeping their gaze at their feet.

“Here’s the short version. One of the vampires from the other nest came here and almost got into a fight with Arthur, then Nightingale came along and dissolved the whole thing. When the vampire left, Merlin got into a fight with them in front of a little girl after they killed someone and almost killed her. That little girl told the detectives every detail about what she saw, which was two vampires fighting each other. Now the police know something abnormal is attacking people. They also know that the person that attacked the girl and the person who saved the girl, Merlin, are connected in some way. The detectives noticed that they have the same behaviors, per se, and if they can connect Merlin’s behaviors to Gilgamesh, Ozymandias, and Arthur’s behaviors from when they talked to the three of them, plus the security footage they had when Mash was attacked...” Enkidu looked at him seriously. “The whole nest is found out, and they’re all arrested for multiple cases of first degree murder.” Ritsuka was stunned into silence. Was it really  _ that _ easy for things to fall apart?

“Holy crap.” Was all he said. Enkidu nodded.

“That’s why they’re so secretive about it. If they’re human in everyone else’s eyes, there’s no way they could be the same as what’s attacking people, so they can’t be connected to any of the cases.” Ritsuka understood everything. This really wasn’t going to be good for Arthur’s nest, was it? They were gradually being pushed into a corner, and they only had a short amount of time to find a way out before something bad happened to them. It was silent in the waiting room after that, the seriousness creating a heavy atmosphere that kept everyone quiet.

Until Ishtar showed up.

She rushed in through the front door, fixing her hair as she fixed the bag hanging on her shoulder. Everyone looked at her as she looked around.

“I got Ozymandias’s message and got here as fast as I could.” Ishtar said as Ereshkigal helped her get situated. “How are they?”

“Roman’s still working, but surgery on a knee with a constant x-ray isn’t good with three people operating because of the strength of the rays, so he told us to wait until he called for our help.” Ereshkigal explained. “He spent the hour and a half I went to go find Nightingale stitching up the cuts on them, and he was already starting on their broken bones when we showed up. He’s incredible.”

“I told you, he knows what he’s doing.” Ishtar said.

“That makes one of you.” Gilgamesh huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at her. “He at least knows the urgency of the situation.” Ishtar narrowed her eyes as Ritsuka felt the tension building in the air and swallowed shallowly.

“Hey...let’s not do this right now.” He said, but neither of them listened.

“I got here as fast as I could.” Ishtar repeated what she said when she walked in the office, and Enkidu shifted uncomfortably in their seat.

“‘As fast as you could’ my ass.” Gilgamesh scoffed. “What, did you limp here?”

“Gilgamesh, take it easy.” Merlin said, but Gilgamesh shook his head firmly.

“No, I ran here.” Ishtar answered his question with an annoyed look.

“You ran.” Gilgamesh repeated. “We’ve been here for how many years and none of us have ran in public.” Ritsuka looked back and forth between the two silently.

“Well if your best friend got attacked just like Mash did I have to be here, don’t I?” Ishtar asked.

“Ozymandias told her it was serious, Gil. She was probably worried.” Arthur said cautiously.

“Really? You have no reason to care about what happens to them.” Gilgamesh’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Yes, I do. I’m just as involved in this as you are.”

“Sure you are. It’s not like it’s the first time this has happened.” Ishtar was angry now, and she balled her fists.

“What’s your problem? Your friend got hurt and I’m here to help.” Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes.

“My  _ problem _ ,” Gilgamesh stated, his voice a dangerous rumble. “Is that you were the only one of us out last night, and you have every reason to attack them after what happened.” Gilgamesh gave her a sideways look before he pointed at her and spoke again. “You attacked Kingu, didn’t you?”

The tension snapped like a wire.

“What?” Ishtar demanded, and suddenly Ereshkigal was standing defensively in front of her sister.

“How could you say something like that? She knows better!” Ereshkigal exclaimed as she hugged Ishtar protectively.

“She’s right, Gilgamesh. That’s ridiculous, even for you.” Nightingale said.

“Maybe I’m crazy, but I can’t see it any other way.” Gilgamesh retorted angrily as Merlin walked to stand near where Ritsuka and Enkidu were sitting. Ritsuka immediately knew that it was in order to protect them, since Gilgamesh’s fangs were prominent in his scowl and Ishtar’s were making their own appearance. Ozymandias placed a hand on Gilgamesh’s shoulder and pulled him back two steps.

“Calm down Gilgamesh, you’re jumping to conclusions that aren’t right.” He said, but that didn’t seem to calm the conversation down at all. Ishtar glowered angrily at Gilgamesh.

“You  _ would _ blame me for this.” She fumed, putting her hands on her hips. “You blamed me back then too because you didn’t want to make it seem like you were the only one that messed up.”

“What do you mean ‘messed up’?” Enkidu asked, sounding a little angry themself. “You only think he messed up because he rejected you.”

“Keep your mouth shut if you don’t want more scars on your side.” Ishtar snapped. That seemed to be the last straw for Gilgamesh. His nails sharpened into claws and his face twisted up in fury before he lunged for her, raising a clawed hand to swipe it across her face. Ishtar grit her teeth and raised her arm to shield herself as Ereshkigal quickly put herself in front of her sister. Ozymandias grabbed Gilgamesh’s arms and pinned them behind his back as Arthur placed a hand on his chest and shoved him back roughly. Ritsuka’s eyes widened. It had all happened in the blink of an eye, but he had seen it all.

“Let go of me!” Gilgamesh fought against Ozymandias and Arthur’s grips, but they wouldn’t budge.

“Gilgamesh, have you completely lost your mind?!” Arthur hissed as Merlin made sure Ritsuka and Enkidu were both behind him. Ritsuka wasn’t able to tell whether the blonde was trembling out of self-restraint or anger, and it made him worry about Arthur and Ozymandias.

“Mash is asleep in the back and Roman can walk out at any moment. Take it easy!” Merlin said urgently. Gilgamesh wasn’t buying it, his whole body strained against the two vampires holding him back. This was bad. Arthur had a point: if Mash or Roman were alerted of the situation, that would add someone else to the list of people that knew about the nest. Ritsuka took a steadying breath and moved to stand up, but Merlin looked at him and shook his head. He looked back to Gilgamesh and Ritsuka saw that Nightingale had stood up, water bottle in hand. She walked up to Gilgamesh before she held her water bottle firmly in her hands…

...and emptied its contents in Gilgamesh’s face.

Gilgamesh froze, his face dripping with water as Ozymandias and Arthur gaped at Nightingale for doing something so stupid. It went deadly silent; and Ritsuka held his breath, thinking that she had  _ really _ gone and pushed him over the edge, and he was going to burst out of the hold he was in before he tore up the closest person to him, which would be poor Nightingale. Gilgamesh glowered at her, but he didn’t move to attack, so Nightingale took it as a chance to speak.

“You all are really dense aren’t you?” She asked, looking between Ozymandias, Arthur, and Gilgamesh before she turned around to look at the two sisters and Merlin. “If the other nest’s plan is to frame you for the murders, then their plan is already working. Like a charm, if I can add. If they’ve managed to trick the nest they were trying to frame, imagine how easy it would be to trick the police and the people in the city.” She crossed her arms as she looked at Gilgamesh. “Don’t you think so?” The blonde looked back up at her for a moment longer before he stood upright with a huff. Ozymandias and Arthur kept their hold on him until Gilgamesh shrugged himself away from the two and dried his face. Ishtar and Ereshkigal relaxed and sat down, Ereshkigal hugging herself quietly as Ishtar patted her shoulder.

“Kingu was coming from the restaurant, weren’t they? And Ishtar was with the gym owner to set up a workout fashion line. She couldn’t have done it, she’s not that crazy.” Merlin joked. Ishtar crossed her legs from where she was sitting as she looked up at the group of vampires in front of her.

“I didn’t hurt Kingu. I don’t know what demon possessed you into thinking that I did, but I didn’t.” She said, giving Gilgamesh a sideways look. The blonde frowned slightly, but then nodded with a quiet sigh before he sat down. Vampires couldn’t lie, so the truth was that Ishtar didn’t attack Kingu.

“That’s good. Now we can focus on the other nest and why they attacked Kingu.” Ritsuka was surprised that he was able to talk after everything he’d just seen, but it made everyone turn to look at him so he kept talking. “Maybe Ishtar was in the area and the vampire knew. They could’ve taken advantage of that, but we need to know it from their perspective. We’re better off asking Kingu what the person that attacked them looked like.” Everyone nodded before Ereshkigal’s head perked up, and soon enough Roman’s voice came from the back.

“Ereshkigal, Nightingale, you can come back now. We just need to get the casts on and we’ll be done.” Nightingale and Ereshkigal stood sharply and hurried behind him, leaving Ishtar, Enkidu, and the boys in the waiting room. Merlin smiled slightly as he sat down and looked at Gilgamesh, who still wore a serious expression on his face.

“You heard him didn’t you? Kingu will be fine after they get their casts on.” He said.

“Yeah, they’ll just be asleep for a while until they get their blood back.” It sounded more like Gilgamesh was trying to reassure himself than anything, but Ritsuka really couldn’t blame the man. The blonde turned to Enkidu before he spoke again. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Fine, Nightingale gave me something to eat and drink after the transfusion.” They said. Gilgamesh nodded before he glared at Arthur and poked a finger at his chest as he glared at Ozymandias too.

“What was holding me back for? I wasn’t going to do anything.” He demanded. Arthur let out a helpless laugh and put a hand up defensively as Ozymandias spoke.

“You two literally couldn’t have chosen a worse time to get into a fight. We’re the ones who should be asking  _ you _ . What were you thinking, attacking Ishtar and Ereshkigal like that?” Gilgamesh huffed with a small pout as he crossed his arms.

“Especially when Mash is asleep and Roman is in the back operating on one of your best friends. We didn’t do anything wrong, you’re just the one who can’t get a hold of their temper. Nightingale had to spray you with water like a cat.” Arthur pointed out.

“Shut up. You aren’t one to talk, Arthur. You almost fought the one that was here two nights ago. Ishtar just knows how to annoy me.” Gilgamesh muttered.

“I didn’t say anything. You’re the one who started it.” Ishtar scoffed from where she was sitting. Ritsuka blinked multiple times before he looked at Enkidu.

“What the hell happened?” He asked quietly, genuinely confused. The nest looked like they were going to tear themselves apart a couple of minutes ago, but now they were acting like nothing happened. Enkidu looked at him as the vampires sat and talked with each other as if Gilgamesh wasn’t literally out of control minutes ago.

“A nest is a really complicated thing, but the only thing you need to know is the vampires in a nest never have ill-intent towards each other or the people they hold close. An argument only lasts a short time before they cool down like nothing happened. If there’s an argument it’s settled through conversation. If it’s serious then they might have a hissy fight, like the one that almost happened between Gil and Ishtar.” Enkidu explained, just as quiet.

“That was supposed to be a hissy fight?” Ritsuka whispered in disbelief. “It looked like it was going to be a bloodbath.”

“That’s because we’re human. Even if Arthur and Ozymandias didn’t hold Gil back, Ereshkigal had nothing to do with their argument, so he would have stopped. If Ereshkigal wasn’t there then that attack would’ve barely hurt Ishtar. It’s not the first time something like this has gone down between them.”

“Oh it’s happened tons of times.” Merlin looked over from where he was sitting as Ritsuka grimaced because he was eavesdropping on their conversation. “That wasn’t nearly as bad as a couple of arguments we’ve had before.”

“I’m just glad it didn’t get out of hand.” Arthur sighed. “Roman definitely would’ve heard.” It was right then that Ritsuka’s phone rang. When he checked who it was, Ritsuka frowned. Why was Gawain calling him at this hour? Shouldn’t he be asleep? Ritsuka picked up and spoke jokingly into the phone.

“Hey! You shouldn’t be awake now, you big dummy.” He was caught by surprise when the voice of a girl filled his ears.

“Act normal and don’t hang up or else your parents are dead. Got it?”

Ritsuka had to force himself not to have a visible reaction at that. That wasn’t Gawain’s voice! Where was he?! Who was on the other side of the phone and what did they do to Lancelot and Gawain?! It was one problem right after another tonight!!! Ritsuka felt panic settle in his gut as he followed the woman’s orders.

“Yeah sure. What’s up?” He asked.

“Show the phone to whoever is around you so that they don’t think anything is wrong.” The woman commanded. Ritsuka looked up at everyone looking at him curiously and showed them the phone with a feigned smile before he put it back to his ear. “How is everything over there?”

“Everything is fine! Mash is asleep because she said a lot of her injuries hurt, but she’s fine.”

“Why are you awake at a time like this?” The woman asked.

“I stayed up a little finishing up makeup school work so that I’m not behind when I go back.”

“Really? Nobody was taken to that doctor’s office?” Ritsuka knew whoever was talking to him was one of the vampires that could’ve attacked Kingu, so he lied.

“No, it’s just been us the entire day. Arthur and Merlin came for a visit but that’s just about it.”

“Hmm. I’m not so sure I believe you.” Ritsuka had to keep himself from panicking, and he huffed out a nervous laugh instead.

“Come on. Are you still asleep or something? They’re all busy with their own problems too. They can’t be at the doctor’s office all the time, you know.” The woman at the other end giggled lightly.

“Is that so? How about this, have you eaten yet?”

“No, not since I had dinner.” Ritsuka answered honestly.

“That’s not good, why don’t you go eat something?”

“I’m not hungry though. I was just about to go to sleep too…”

“Take a hint. Stand up and leave so that they can’t hear you.” The woman sounded annoyed and impatient, and a fresh wave of panic settled in his gut. Ritsuka was so scared to do something wrong, he didn’t want something to happen to Gawain and Lancelot because he didn’t do as the woman said.

“Okay, fine. I will. Who’s open right now?”

“There’s a crowded coffee shop near you. Go there.”

“The coffee shop next door? I want to fall asleep, not stay up more.” Ritsuka joked with a nervous laugh as he stood.

“Don’t play dumb with me and do as I say.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t have to drink anything, so I’ll just have a muffin.” He put on his jacket and waved to everyone casually before he left, shoving his shaking hands into his pockets.

“Did you leave?” The woman asked.

“Yeah, I’m on my way there now.”

“Don’t try anything funny and sit at the table farthest from the office. We’re going to have a little chat.”

“O-okay, yeah sure, that’s cool.” He said, trying not to seem anxious. The woman giggled again, amused at how obvious he was.

“Don’t sound so nervous. I won’t do anything if you’re willing to talk.”

“About what? I don’t even know you!” Ritsuka hissed quietly into the phone.

“But you know what I am.” So the person on the other end was definitely a vampire…

Good to know.

Ritsuka decided to keep playing dumb. He remembered Ozymandias had told him that the only way a vampire could tell if he was speaking the truth was by listening to his heart beat. So now Ritsuka needed to know if someone from the other nest was in that coffee shop.

“What you are? What do you mean?” The woman was silent for a second.

“I’m holding your parents hostage, don’t make a wrong move.”

“I’m aware that you’ve got me on your leash.” Ritsuka said bitterly. “But I have no clue what you’re talking about.” He opened the door to the coffee shop before he walked inside and sat at the furthest table. “You aren’t trying to catfish me are you?” He asked. “Or play a prank on me where you send your friends to catch me by surprise? Don’t lie to me, if you’re gonna hold my parents hostage the least you can do is answer my questions too.”

“What an annoying boy you are.” The woman sounded like she was scowling. “But no, my friends and I aren’t anywhere near there.” Ritsuka felt triumphant. “But why don’t we chat anyway? I think I can still get some information out of you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Ritsuka asked dumbly.

“Shut it. Tell me, what do you know about the murders so far?”

“Oh they’re terrible, but what else can I say? My sister and my...girlfriend were both attacked.” Ritsuka answered. “Who did you say you were?”

“Queen M, but you won’t need the name unless you’re looking for a little company at night.” The woman sounded sly, and Ritsuka ignored it. “My turn to ask. How do you know Arthur and Merlin?”

“They’re friends with my parents, and they work as a florist and a bartender.” Ritsuka answered at the bare minimum. “Why do you want to know about them?”

“One of my friends heard he was in the city and wanted to see him again.” The woman answered. “Do you know any of Arthur’s friends?”

“Not other than my parents, and even they say they learn something new about him everyday.” Ritsuka answered before he narrowed his eyes. “Speaking of, where are they right now? Why do you have Gawain’s phone?”

“I overheard them talking about a girl that had been attacked and I followed them home, thinking they knew a secret of mine. I decided to sneak into their apartment and take his phone and call you since both you and the girl weren’t home.”

“What secret?” He pressed.

“That’s none of your business.” Queen M already gave herself away, so Ritsuka didn’t understand why she was hiding it. “Where were you there when the girl was attacked? Did you see what happened?”

“No. My parents called me and told me she was hurt, so I rushed to go see her.” The woman clicked her tongue. “You weren’t there when one of your friends attacked my girlfriend?”

“Nope. I left after she jumped down and attacked her.” The woman stated. “How much do you think your girlfriend knows about my friend?”

“Absolutely nothing.” Ritsuka answered immediately. “She told me she doesn’t remember anything that happened after she was slammed into the ground.” The woman sighed impatiently on the other end. It seemed like she was the only one who wasn’t getting any information out of this.

“Really? You haven’t made any attempt to see what killed your sister and almost killed your girlfriend?”

“The police told me not to get myself involved or else I would get hurt. They told me that they would do everything they could to solve the case.” The woman laughed on the other end of the phone. She sounded like someone had just told her a good joke.

“That was a good one.” Queen M said.

“Why?” Ritsuka asked. “You don’t want the police to catch you and the other murderers?”

“Something like that.” She said. “Listen well, kid. Don’t tell anyone that you and I talked, or I won’t be happy.” Ritsuka already knew that, but he was going to tell the nest anyway because he was dumb like that.

“Only if you let both of my parents go without a single scratch. I told you everything I know, and none of us have anything to do with you, so let them go and don’t come after us again.” He was serious. If this woman did anything to Lancelot or Gawain, the first thing Ritsuka was going to do is tell Arthur, and Ritsuka knew Arthur was going to be  _ pissed _ if something happened to Gawain and Lancelot. Vampires weren’t good when they were pissed, Ritsuka knew that much from Gilgamesh’s situation earlier.

“Oooh, commanding.” The woman said slyly. “I won't hurt your parents as long as you keep your mouth shut.” And with that, the woman hung up, leaving Ritsuka sitting alone in the coffee shop. He sighed in relief, knowing that she was going to hold true to her words since she didn’t lie. What was he going to do? He couldn’t tell any of the nest what happened between him and Queen M or else she was going to be after him, and she already knew where Lancelot and Gawain’s apartment was. She could go and hurt them the second she found out.

Unless…

She said that neither her or her friends were near the coffee shop right? So that means they couldn’t overhear Ritsuka if he told the nest. Arthur’s nest didn’t know what Queen M looked like, and Queen M didn’t know how any of them looked like either, only two of her nest members did. So they couldn’t know if he told the nest about the conversation, and this was the only time he could tell everyone without the enemy nest figuring out!

Ritsuka stood sharply and rushed out of the coffee shop so that he could tell Arthur everything.

**dawn.**

“Whatever, just do what you can. Bye.”

Diarmuid hung up on his conversation with Shuten and sighed, watching the glass of whiskey the waitress at the nightclub had voluntarily given him. So Yan Qing had taken care of one of the human allies the other nest had, and Medb had gotten nothing from the boy she called. Perfect. Medb said that the girl Shuten attacked didn’t know anything about them, and that the boy and his family were completely clueless too. Diarmuid knew that could mean one of two things: either the boy and his family really didn’t know anything or that boy was lying the whole damn time. At this point, Diarmuid was just about done with his nest. It was like they weren’t even  _ trying _ to stay hidden anymore, and he was up to his bursting point with how careless they were being. The only one who at least attempted to stay hidden was Yan Qing, as odd as it sounded. The others were making careless mistakes that were going to get them all killed. Diarmuid huffed out another sigh, bouncing his leg up and down annoyedly as he watched one of the water droplets roll down the side of his glass of whiskey. Thanks to his dumbass group of friends, his thirst was a sharp itch that wouldn’t calm down no matter how much he tried to move his mind away from it, and the fact that he was in a place with so many delectable looking humans really wasn’t helping. It made his fangs ache from where they were hiding in his gums, and Diarmuid had to clench his fists to keep himself from tearing up the leather couch of the booth with his claws. He couldn’t go wild in a place like this, then he would be just as careless as the others; and knowing them, they would poke fun at him and tease him about how no matter Diarmuid tried to bury the monster in him, he would still give in every time. He leaned forward on the couch, wringing his hands as he tried to concentrate on something other than the rapid heartbeats of the people dancing on the dance floor, but they were  _ loud _ . Even louder than the music! It was a parade of the same fast, loud heartbeat that bounced off the walls before it entered Diarmuid’s ears and echoed in his head over and over again.

_ Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump. _

Diarmuid clamped his teeth tightly together, his breath coming out in rough pants as he was suddenly hyper-aware of everything around him. The feeling of clothes on his body, the occasional brush of the hairs in this face against his forehead, the size of the ice cubes in the wine glass in the hand of a woman sitting at a table on the other side of the bar. Diarmuid’s eyes couldn’t focus on a single spot, and he felt like the smell of all the humans in the room were suffocating him. His thoughts were all over the place, and his self-control was slipping like oil in between his fingers. Just when he thought he was going to storm out of the club and sink his fangs into the first person he saw, a woman’s voice snapped him out of his crazed state.

“You still haven’t taken a drink from that whiskey? It must’ve been a rough night.” Diarmuid’s head snapped to the person talking to him. It was the woman who had brought him a whiskey out of nowhere. He didn’t even call over a waitress or anything since he wasn’t planning on getting a drink, but this woman walked up to him, placed a whiskey in front of him with a smile, and told him that he looked like he really needed a drink. That was only half right, but he really couldn’t refuse the nice lady, so he thanked her. The woman in front of him crossed her arms and smiled. “Well? I know a stressed customer when I see one.” Diarmuid scratched the back of his head.

“Ahaha, it’s nothing. Just friends being stupid.” He laughed airily, keeping his gaze on her face despite her revealing outfit.

“Do you want to talk about it?” The woman sat across from Diarmuid, looking at him with an interested expression. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his fangs from appearing at such a wrong time. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. My shift is over now, so I can chat.”

“Okay then, if you and your friends have drama with another friend group, what would you do?” He asked, more to get his attention away from his thirst than to start a conversation.

“I’d try to avoid it, if I’m being honest. I don’t want any more trouble than I have.” She answered. At least the lady knew what he was feeling.

“You’re right, but if you’re friends are a little on the dumb side then they always want more trouble.” He shrugged. The woman rested her forearms on the table and leaned forward, causing her breasts to smoosh upwards.

“Really? Where are you and your friends from? It doesn’t sound like you’re from around here.”

“We don’t stay in one spot. It’s like a travelling circus.” Diarmuid averted his eyes from the woman courteously.

“Sounds to me like you’ve got a lot of tension in you.” In the reflection of the whiskey glass, he could see how the woman drummed her fingers against her cheek slyly as she checked him out. “I can help you  _ get off _ if you want.” Diarmuid suddenly remembered the itch of his thirst and how bad it was when an important realization hit him: Diarmuid’s next meal just fell right into his lap. He looked back at the woman, making sure to keep his fangs away as he crossed his arms to hide the claws that had slipped past his grip of control. Diarmuid felt torn. He couldn’t do this now, he had a job to do! He had to protect his nest by making sure the other nest didn’t have any human allies lurking around!

But then again...a good meal sounded  _ amazing _ right now.

“I’m not so sure. A freak like me isn’t worth your time.” Diarmuid refused with a wry laugh.

“A freak like you looks like they could absolutely eat me alive.” The woman said, giving him a sultry look. Diarmuid resisted the urge the laugh out loud.

She couldn’t be more right.

“I’ll cut you a break from your friends. Let’s head to my place.” She said, standing up and taking Diarmuid’s hand in hers before she guided him out of the club and into the night. “My place is right across the street in the motel here. My boyfriend was supposed to come visit me after my shift, but he doesn’t fucking care about me.”

“I’ll cut you a break from your boyfriend.” Diarmuid quoted the words she said earlier as they crossed the empty street, making her laugh.

“Good. I kind of need it.” She said while they approached her door. The woman opened her door and allowed Diarmuid in before she shut the door behind her. The woman wasted no time in taking a firm hold on Diarmuid’s shoulders before she kissed him, and it wasn’t a soft kiss either. This woman had one goal tonight, and it was obvious in the way she kissed him roughly. Diarmuid tasted a mix of alcohol and mint on her lips, and that’s how he knew she was probably a bit tipsy. Her slightly laggard moments were a sign too, but Diarmuid had to eat soon. He’s had people who were blackout drunk before. This wasn’t going to be bad compared to them. Without a word, Diarmuid pulled them both towards the bed, and when the back of his knees hit the mattress, the woman pulled away so that she could push him down and straddle his body, pulling her shirt up and over her head before tossing it to the side carelessly in the process. She kissed Diarmuid again, working his shirt off as he effortlessly unclasped the woman’s bra to reveal the breasts she was trying to show off earlier. The woman ran her hands down Diarmuid’s front, shamelessly ogling at his muscled that tensed and relaxed with every move. Alright, now it was time for him to dig in.

Diarmuid began to kiss the woman’s jaw and ear before he slid down to her neck. The woman gasped a little when he kissed at a certain point, and that’s where Diarmuid was going to bite. Letting his fangs slide down as the woman held his head close, Diarmuid bit into the woman’s neck, making her flinch slightly before she sighed out a moan. The taste of blood soothed his aching fangs immediately, and he sucked on the bite repeatedly, coaxing the fluid into his mouth. The woman was lost in pleasure for a little bit, her breath coming out in short pants as she laughed airily.

“You’re into bites huh?” She asked, but Diarmuid didn’t answer. He was lost in the taste, lost in the feeling of satisfying his raging thirst. He continued to take gulps of her blood, and the woman began to hesitate.

“H-hey. You can move on now.” Diarmuid ignored her. He bit deeper into her neck, causing the flow of blood into his mouth to become a constant stream. The woman began to panic. She tried shoving him off of her, but Diarmuid just kept sucking mouthful after mouthful of the warm, thick blood in her system.

“Get...off of me…” The woman managed, but Diarmuid simply let go of her neck to whisper in her ear.

“Shhh, love. It’ll only hurt for a second.” He murmured before he shoved his hand straight through her chest. The flesh, muscle, and bones in the woman’s chest didn’t have any resistance to Diarmuid’s hand as he took a hold of her heart after he broke through her ribs. The woman froze for a split second before she slumped against Diarmuid’s body, blood wetting his muscled torso and face as it splattered onto him. The loud  _ squelch _ of her muscle and blood slipping against each other as Diarmuid yanked her heart out of her body was enough to get his thirst going again. He felt it beat once, twice, three times before it stilled, blood oozing out of the organ and soaking the sheets of the large bed. Diarmuid dropped the woman’s motionless body onto the bed before he inspected the heart in his hand. It was dark and rich with blood, with veins running up, down, and around the organ. The arteries stuck out of the heart in all directions, but the most prominent one was the aorta. It poked out of the top and presented itself to Diarmuid ever so nicely, like a straw in a smoothie.

Diarmuid stood, walked over to the small sofa, and positioned it with a bloodied hand so that it faced the bed before he sat down, one knee propped up so that he could rest his elbows on it. He opened his mouth and bit into the heart in his hand like an apple, his teeth slicing through the chewy and warm muscle easily as the organ leaked blood down his bare forearm. Diarmuid didn’t even bother troubling himself with the blood slipping down his chin and dripping onto his lap as he eyed the scene on the bed. He stared blankly at the dead body on the bed as his phone rang. Diarmuid debated between answering Cu’s phone call and just letting his phone ring before he just decided to answer.

“Look who finally decided to answer the phone.” Diarmuid could hear the annoyed tone in Cu’s voice.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“I wanna know where you are. The sun’s coming up if you haven’t noticed.” Cu pointed out.

“Is it?” He asked absentmindedly before he bit into the heart again, not bothering to stand to see the sunrise for himself.

“Uh, yeah. It’s weird how you weren’t the first one here.” Cu said as Diarmuid swallowed the bite he took.

“I decided to stay at the club for a bit.” Diarmuid stated half of the truth even though he knew Cu could see right through him. He took another bite of the heart in his hand and chewed it before swallowing it indifferently.

“You’re eating, aren’t you?” Cu asked after a moment.

“Maybe.” Diarmuid looked at the small bit of the heart he had left to eat and popped it into his mouth as he heard the distant ‘I called it!’ from Yan Qing on the other end. “Did I answer your question?”

“If it wasn’t for the fact that you busted your ass all night I’d be pissed.”

“Knowing whether or not you’re pissed isn’t going to stop me from eating.” Diarmuid retorted.

“Fuck you. Don’t be late or else you’ll get caught.” Cu said before he cut the line. Diarmuid rolled his eyes before he placed his phone on the table in front of him and stood so that he could make his way to the bathroom. When he came face to face with his reflection in the huge mirror, Diarmuid let himself take in his appearance. His face, chest, abs, and right forearm were covered in blood, and his sweat pants were soaked in blood as well. His fangs and claws added the touch that made his look seem natural. Without them, he wouldn’t look like the creature he was.

He wouldn’t look like a  _ vampire _ .

Sighing, Diarmuid shucked off his pants and turned on the shower before he stepped under the shower head, shutting his eyes and letting the water travel in rivulets down his tense muscles as the blood washed off his body and flowed down the drain. He really needed to let himself go more often, because Diarmuid didn’t feel  _ any _ more stress. That’s usually how he felt like after he fed. Calm, pacified, not stressed about his friends making dumb mistakes because no matter how smart and logical he acted...Diarmuid would make the same dumb mistakes. Hell, he made a stupid mistake by killing that woman!

Diarmuid was starting to think that his nest was starting to rub off on him, but what could he do? Nothing but make sure that he and his nest kept each other safe. With the exception of Medb and Shuten, the rest of the nest had seen what it’s like to be human, so they were going to make human mistakes over and over again. After making sure the evidence and scent of blood was washed off of him, Diarmuid shut off the water and grabbed a towel before he wrapped it around his waist and stepped out into the main room again, ignoring the dead body on the bed as he opened the closet. The woman had said she had her boyfriend’s clothes in here didn’t she? He fished through the closet until he found a shirt and a pair of jeans that were thankfully his size. Diarmuid held the shirt in front of him and put it on before he tugged the pair of pants on and inspected himself in the mirror. Not bad. The woman’s boyfriend didn’t have a bad taste in fashion. Diarmuid put on his jacket before he prepared to leave, but then he heard voices coming towards the entrance of the room. Soon enough, he heard a knock at the door.

Oh shit.

It wasn’t a vampire, so Diarmuid wasn’t worried. He walked up to the door casually and opened it slightly so that he stood fully to block the person’s view of his work inside. It was a man who was a little shorter than Diarmuid, but definitely more buff in his shoulders and arms. If Diarmuid was a betting type of guy...he would bet that this guy was the woman’s boyfriend.

“Who are you?” The man asked.

“Nobody you need to remember.” Diarmuid said. “I was just here for a snack.” The man looked pissed.

“What the fuck are you doing at my girlfriend’s place?” He demanded. “And why are you wearing my clothes?”

“I just said what I was here for.” Diarmuid sighed, facepalming. “A snack.”

“Did you touch my girlfriend?!” The man was really raging now. He moved to push Diarmuid out of the way, and Diarmuid side stepped so that the man stumbled into the apartment as Diarmuid shut and locked the door behind him. The man straightened and gasped when he saw the woman on the bed.

“Babe! Hey, what the hell happened?!” The man shouted. Diarmuid sighed again, shutting his eyes and running a hand through his hair before he rolled up his sleeves.

“Uh oh, now you’ve gone and made yourself a witness. I can’t have one of those walking around, can I?” He asked, shaking his head as the man quickly turned around.

“What the fuck did you do to her?!” Diarmuid opened his eyes before he closed the distance between him in the man in one footstep, clamping his hand over the man’s mouth and staring right into the man’s eyes with a small smile.

“I drank her, then I pulled her heart out and ate it.” Diarmuid stated, making the man’s eyes fill with horror as he began to frantically fight against him, but with a sharp jerk of the hand that was over the man’s mouth, his was broken. Diarmuid stepped away from the man, allowing the body to slump lifelessly to the floor. His phone rang again, and he picked up without bothering to check to see which one of his nest-mates’ names were on the screen.

“Hey.” Was all Diarmuid said.

“Are you done indulging yourself? We’ve got somewhere to be.” Medb’s impatient voice came on the other end of the phone.

“Yeah, I’m full. I’m heading out now.” He replied.

“Good. Meet us at the east alleyway, it should be pretty close to where you are.” Medb directed before she hung up. Diarmuid pocketed his phone as he eyed the mess he made, pulling his sleeves back down before he began to leave out the back window. He smiled to himself as he made his way back to where his nest wanted him to be.

Room service was going to have one hell of a scare.


	19. Authors note 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY I LET YOU DOWN IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS A NEW CHAPTER BUT IM WORKING ON IT I PROMISE

Hi hiiiii! I’m gonna keep this short since this is just an authors note. I haven’t been able to work on, update, or respond to comments on “Marked” for a few reasons that I don’t mind sharing:

1) My internet got cut by the company for the first two weeks of January, so I couldn’t do much except for plan the chapters

2) For the third week of January, I had to make sure I kept my grades up because the end of the first semester was happening at my high school.

3) My mom had surgery and I had to take care of her with my dad and little brother during all of that.

so I haven’t stopped writing this fic! It’s just that life has been hectic so I haven’t had the chance to write it. So please be patient with me until I get back into the swing of things. As always, thank you all for reading <3.

-Beef


	20. Wednesday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished this chapter lmaoooo

**morning.**

“Holmes! Thank God you’re here. You aren’t going to like this.”

Arash waited for Sherlock and Moriarty to step out of their car before he took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. Sherlock and Moriarity walked up to him, curious about what they were about to see in the motel room.

“How many more victims?” Moriarity asked.

“Two. One looks like nothing compared to the other.” Arash answered as he handed Sherlock one big file and another small one. “That’s the entire case file plus a new victim that survived and is currently in the doctor’s office, but you can take a look at that later. I’ve brought someone here to examine the scene with you.” Sherlock placed the two files in the car before he looked to see a man wearing a mask over his mouth and nose. “This is Asclepius. He’s a forensic pathologist who’s going to examine the scene with you.” Sherlock and Moriarity held out their hands casually, aiming for a hand shake.

“Detective Holmes and Moriarity. A pleasure to meet you.” Sherlock introduced. Asclepius merely looked at their hands before he rolled his eyes.

“Right.” He said simply. “Let’s just take a look and then we can warm up to each other.” Then he began to walk to the motel room door, leaving Moriarity and Sherlock standing there awkwardly with their hands out. Arash laughed nervously as they righted themselves, and he patted Sherlock’s back.

“Asclepius is really serious about getting his work done. He’ll open up once you guys are done inspecting everything. Come on, let’s check this out.” He said before all three of them moved to catch up with Asclepius, who was waiting for them by the motel room door.

“Are you sure you wanna see this in person? I know detectives only see crime scenes in pictures so I thought I should ask.” Asclepius said.

“We wouldn’t be here otherwise. Let’s take a look.” Sherlock said as Moriarity nodded in agreement. Asclepius sighed and opened the door, guiding them into the room before standing off to the side with his arms crossed.

On second thought, maybe Sherlock should’ve just looked at a picture.

The motel room looked like a slaughterhouse, and it absolutely _reeked_ of blood. There was a dead and topless woman on the bed and a dead man slumped against the wall. The woman and the bed were both soaked in blood, and Sherlock could see a hole in the woman’s back. The man’s neck was elongated and tilted at an unnatural angle.

“Oh boy.” Moriarity said, pressing a finger up to his nose with a disgusted look.

“You had the choice. Now, stand off to the side there and don’t touch anything with your bare hands. Let’s see what we have here…” Asclepius walked to the dead man on the ground as he slipped on his gloves and knelt down. He felt around the corpse carefully for wounds as Sherlock and Moriarity wondered how Asclepius could stand in the middle of a whole crime scene and act like it was completely normal. Asclepius’s hand felt at the man’s neck and he frowned slightly.

“A broken neck, but there’s no sign of muscle tension.” He said.  
“Muscle tension?” Moriarity asked. Asclepius huffed out an impatient sigh.

“Yes, ‘muscle tension’.” Asclepius mimicked the way Moriarity spoke before he gave them an annoyed look. Arash chuckled nervously as Sherlock sighed. “When someone’s neck is broken, their head is forced to turn. The muscles in their neck get really taut until they finally relax when the neck is broken, but that’s not the case here. The neck is just broken.” Sherlock understood what Asclepius was trying to say, and he nodded.

“Does that mean it was broken on an object?” Arash asked.

“No, it would still have the same result.” Asclepius said, and Sherlock could tell that the man was grimacing behind his mask. “This person’s neck was yanked upwards before one of two things happened. One, a big force was suddenly applied to his neck or two, his head was tilted to the side.”

“You lost me.” Moriarity chuckled. Asclepius sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Of course I did.” He muttered before he stood. “If you can’t understand that much then I gotta walk you through _everything_.” Moriarity’s eyebrow twitched, and Sherlock patted his back sympathetically. “You at least know your neck is curved so that it can support the weight of your skull right?” Sherlock, Arash, and Moriarity nodded. “So if something was to pull it upward, it would straighten the neck and make it as stiff as a twig. If you apply a big and sudden force to a twig or bend it to the side while it’s stiff…”

“...it’ll break.” Sherlock finished.

“Yes, but that way of having your neck broken is only possible through suicide.” Asclepius said.

“That makes sense. The rope will pull up on their neck and when it tightens it exerts a harsh force on the neck if they’re dropped from high enough.” Moriarity thought.

“So then, are you saying that it’s impossible that a person killed them?” Arash asked.

“For now, but we still have victim number two over here…” Asclepius stood and walked over to the dead woman on the bed. “I’ll check what happened here and then we can come to conclusions.” Asclepius took a deep breath before he flipped the dead woman over onto her back, making Sherlock, Arash, and Moriarity avert their gaze from the corpse’s naked form. Sherlock heard Asclepius scoff before it went silent, then he heard a sigh.

“Woman got her heart taken out, but…” Asclepius paused. “The bite was inflicted first.”

“How can you tell?” Sherlock asked as he grimly brought himself to look at the dead woman.

“The blood on her neck can be chipped off because it's dry. The blood on her chest here is still a little, well, wet.” Asclepius answered. “And...as crazy as this sounds…” He pointed to the ridges of the hole in the woman’s chest. “If you see here, it isn’t a particularly smooth slice through.”

“So what does it mean?” Moriarity asked. Asclepius looked at them seriously as he set the dead woman down again on her front.

“It means tools aren’t what did this. This was a barehanded job.” Sherlock’s eyes widened a bit. A _person_ did all of this?!

“So you’re saying a person killed this woman?” Arash asked incredulously.

“That’s absolutely insane.” Sherlock stated as the three began to walk out of the motel room. “There’s just no way.”

“Holmes is right. There couldn’t possibly be a human strong enough to do something like that.” Moriarity added.

“What if it wasn’t human?”

Asclepius’s question had Arash and the two detectives stopping in their tracks and blinking in surprise. They weren’t expecting the question at all. It was absolutely ridiculous to think of, a human being able to take out a person’s heart with their bare hands. If it wasn’t human, then what was it? An animal like a bear or anything like that couldn’t have done all of this. Witches, werewolves, vampires, and ghouls all belonged in children’s books.

“What do you mean by that?” Sherlock asked. “A human is the only thing that could’ve done something like this.”

“Really?” Asclepius said, taking off his gloves and tossing them carelessly in the trash. “What makes you say that?” Arash sighed in a defeated way.

“You’re right. A human can’t break bones with their bare hands.” Arash said.

“Then it was an animal.” Moriarity insisted.

“Yes, an animal walked into this motel room and undressed a woman.” Asclepius said, his sarcastic tone making the three hesitate. “This thing had human intelligence.”

“Then what is it?” Sherlock asked. “If it’s not an animal and it’s not a human, then what is it?”

“I’m not the detective here, am I?” Asclepius asked before he walked over to his car. He pulled out two files and walked back to where the three were standing. “I did my job. Here’s the pathologist's conclusion: The man’s cause of death was a broken neck and the woman’s cause of death was blood loss. By what or by who…” Asclepius handed them the two files and gave them a pointed look. “Is to be determined by the detectives. Give me a phone call when something else shows up. I look forward to working with you.” With that, Asclepius turned and walked to his car before he fired it up and drove away. Sherlock turned to Moriarity instantly.

“What the _hell_ was that all about?” He demanded, making Moriarity put his hands up defensively.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m just as confused as you are.” He said. Arash thought for a few moments.

“So Asclepius thinks what caused all of this isn’t human…” He thought aloud before he looked at the two detectives. “It actually makes sense.” Sherlock and Moriarity facepalmed.

“Not you too, Sheriff.” Moriarity sighed.

“I’m serious, detectives. It makes sense. Just think about the murder scenes and what your witnesses told you!” Sherlock paused. The people had their hearts taken out and throats torn apart, and their bones were broken. None of the witnesses reported weapons, but all of them reported people.

Except for one.

Sherlock had to admit, the killers and whoever saved Abby were smart. They knew that whatever Abby would tell the police would be ignored and brushed off because she was a little kid, so they didn’t bother hiding their nature from her. However, the evidence shows that something humanly inhuman killed all of the victims so far. If what Abby described turned out to be true…

Then, maybe were-people _do_ exist.

“Holmes? Hey! Earth to Sherlock!” Moriarity snapped his fingers in front of Sherlock’s face, making him blink in surprise before he grabbed Moriarity’s wrist and looked at Arash seriously.

“You said the new victim who survived is in the doctor’s office?” He asked. Arash raised a confused eyebrow.

“Y-yeah, but they’ve been asleep since they were brought into the office. They were pretty much done for if--” He started, but then Sherlock turned to look at Moriarity.

“Get in the car. We’ve got a new lead.” Moriarity looked just as confused as Arash did, so Sherlock looked at him more urgently. “I’ll explain everything on the way there, just come on.”

“What?” Moriarity was beyond confused, so he simply followed Sherlock and got in the car before he revved it up. He rolled down the window and exchanged confused looks with Arash as Sherlock got in the car.

“I’ll call you if anything comes up.” Arash said, shaking his head as Moriarity nodded and pulled away from the parking lot.

“Care to explain yourself before you completely lose me?” Moriarity huffed as he pulled onto Main Street. Sherlock looked at him.

“This will sound like complete insanity, but hear me out for a second. I think Abby was right.” He said.

“About what?”

“About the were-people she described. She saw it with her own two eyes, didn’t she? She didn’t sound like she was lying either.” Sherlock explained.

“This is coming from the person who wouldn’t believe her when we were interrogating her?” Moriarity asked jokingly.

“Because at the time we didn’t have the information Asclepius gave us today.” Sherlock insisted. “We need to talk to her again.”

“Like, now? She could be in school.” Moriarity asked.

“We interrogated her yesterday after she saw her uncle’s friend get murdered in front of her.” Sherlock deadpanned. “I don’t think she’s going to be in school. If she is then we can just wait until afterwards.” Moriarity paused before he laughed in disbelief.

“Call her uncle then.” He stated as Sherlock pulled out his phone and a slip of paper with Carter’s number on it before he dialed the number and put his phone up to his ear. Sherlock listened intently to the beeps the phone gave him before the tone stopped abruptly and a man’s voice came from the other side of the line.

“Hello?”

“Hi, yes, Mr. Carter. This is Detective Holmes, I talked to your niece yesterday about the incident that she saw.” Sherlock introduced himself quickly, not wasting any time.

“Oh hello, detective. How can I help you?” Carter asked. The man had a gruff voice that sounded like a stone against a chalkboard, and Sherlock grimaced.

“Earlier this morning my partner and I received a new lead on the case and we were wondering if we could ask Abby a few more questions? If all goes well, it won’t take much of her time at all.” Sherlock asked. He heard a sigh and shuffling from the other end.

“I’m not so sure Mr. Holmes. Abby still seems pretty shaken up about what she saw, and she didn’t even want to go to school today.” Carter said, and Sherlock pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Can you see if you can ask Abby if you can sit with her? Or if there’s someone else who can sit with her and help?” He suggested, not liking the dead-end they were heading towards.

“Lavinia is the only one Abby’s opened up to since the whole thing happened. I’m surprised she was even able to talk to you yesterday.” Carter said.

“That’s perfect. Just let both of them talk to us.”

“I don’t understand why. These are children. Abby’s been telling the same fairy tale of how she saw were-people. The info won’t help you.” Sherlock frowned.

“Maybe so, but she’s seen someone from the group of killers with her own two eyes. That’s a game changer in this case. Every piece of information that’s left out is another person dead, Mr. Carter. Anything will be useful, even if it was from a baby.” Sherlock urged. It was silent for a moment before Carter sighed and spoke again.

“Fine, but I’ll only allow you to talk to her tonight. It’s your only chance to get information from her.” He said, making Sherlock let out a breath of relief.

“Of course. How does nine sound?”

“Just fine. I’ll be in front of your office at nine o’clock sharp with Abby and Lavinia.” Came the short reply before Carter hung up. Sherlock looked triumphantly at Moriarity, who gave him a look.

“Don’t look so happy just yet. Call the doctor’s office and see if they’re okay for tonight too.” He said. Sherlock nodded before he dialed the doctor’s office and put his phone up to his ear. The progress the two were already making was great. If Sherlock and Moriarity talked to both people at the same time, they could make connections more easily.

“Hello, thank you for calling the doctor’s office. This is Ereshkigal speaking.” A woman’s voice chimed over the phone.

“Good morning. This is Detective Holmes, my partner and I stopped by Sunday night to interrogate Ms. Kyrielight after she was attacked.” Just like the last phone call, Sherlock made his introduction short and sweet.

“Oh! Yes! How are you detective?” Ereshkigal asked cheerfully.

“Quite alright.” Sherlock took a deep breath before he continued. “We’ve received information that there was another attack and the victim that survived, Kingu, is now under your care. Is this correct?” There was a pause on the other end before Ereshkigal spoke.

“Yes, it’s quite terrible.” She said. “They’re in a stable condition now, but they were barely alive when they were brought in.”

“It’s a relief to hear that they’re okay. Is there a way that Detective Moriarity could talk to them tonight? Maybe they can tell him what they saw and what happened?” He asked.

“I’m not sure, detective, Kingu was hurt pretty badly so I’m not sure if they’re going to be awake before tonight.” Ereshkigal said, an apologetic tone in her voice. “What time did he want to come in?”

“Like nine o’clock? Do you think they’ll be awake by then?” Sherlock asked.

“It’s really hard to say...but how about I call you back at eight thirty and let you know if they’re up to answer questions?” Ereshkigal suggested as Moriarity parked the car in front of the coffee shop they enjoyed going to.

“That’d be appreciated. I’ll be waiting for your call.” Sherlock finished before he hung up and exited the car with his partner. “They’re in a stable condition but they’re resting so the nurse doesn’t know if they’ll be awake by nine. So she’ll call me at eight thirty.” They entered the coffee shop with their files and paperwork before they took a seat at a booth, facing each other so that they could talk and plan.

“Look on the bright side, the nurse didn’t say no.” Moriarity said.

“She made it seem unlikely.”

“Look on the even brighter side, the victim isn’t dead.”

“That _is_ good, but it would be so much easier and better if we had input from both people at the same time. We can get a side by side comparison that way.”

“Oh! We can use the Bluetooth devices Arash keeps begging us to use!” Moriarity said with poorly concealed excitement. “It’ll be like we’re under cover!”

“Are you five?” Sherlock asked with a grimace. “It doesn’t matter what we use as long as the information from Abby and Kingu match up.”

“What kind of information are you aiming for?”

“I’ll ask her to describe the people she saw again. In the meantime you go see if the new victim in the doctor’s office is awake and you can interrogate them. Ask Kingu about what they saw exactly. Also…” Sherlock paused, making his partner look at him curiously. “Detectives don’t have the right to take people into custody, but police do. Take Arash with you and keep a close eye on Merlin and Arthur.”

“We ruled both of them out when we talked to Gilgamesh and Ozymandias yesterday.” Moriarity stated, but Sherlock shook his head.

“I still have a feeling they weren’t telling the whole story. Their answers were bare in info, which is a classic giveaway that they’re hiding something.” Sherlock crossed his arms and sighed. “We’ll get to the bottom of it though.”

“What could they be hiding?” Moriarity asked. “They told us what they knew.”

“They also told us that the only thing they _didn’t_ know was if Merlin went straight home after Fujimaru Ritsuka’s birthday party. Or if he was even there to begin with.” Sherlock said, making Moriarity blink in surprise.

“They did say that. Should I interrogate Merlin too?” Sherlock thought for a few moments. So maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if they used the devices Arash kept asking the both of them to use. Arash said that the microphones were good enough to hear a conversation in a room, but it still kept the conversation confidential to two people since it was like an earbud. That would be good for them to exchange the information at the same time, right? Moriarity would be able to hear Sherlock and Abby, and Sherlock would be able to hear Moriarity and Kingu. It was perfect. Sherlock leaned forward in his seat and looked at Moriarity with renowned determination.

“Okay, here’s the plan.”

**afternoon.**

“You aren’t going to come to dinner tonight?”

Bedivere slowed down his jogging in order to give Arthur his full attention. He unplugged his headphones and insead held his phone worriedly up to his ear. This was the fourth time this week that Arthur cancelled the plans they had together.

“I’m really sorry. It’s just been one accident after another.” Arthur sounded stressed and genuinely apologetic, and it made Bedivere’s heart hurt. He hated it when Arthur wasn’t happy and cheerful like he usually was when he talked.

“There’s been another attack?” Bedivere asked, going from a slow walk to a complete stop on the sidewalk.

“Yeah...this time it was one of Gilgamesh’s friends.” Arthur explained. “They were even worse than Mash. We were lucky that Roman was able to bring them into a more stable condition.”

“That’s good.” He said before he laughed slightly. “It’s like whoever is planning the attacks are planning it to interfere with our plans. That’s the fourth time.” Bedivere joked.

“I hate having to keep postponing this dinner, Bedivere. I want to have it just as badly as you do, trust me.” He jumped, sensing that Arthur thought he was mad or skeptical.

“No, no! I believe you! I’m just…” Bedivere hesitated before he sighed. “Worried about all of this. I’m worried about you. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m going to be fine. I’m the one who’s worried about _you_.” Arthur reassured.

“Okay...I’m still curious, though. What could be causing all of these attacks?” Bedivere asked. Arthur paused on the other end before speaking again.

“Not something good, that’s for sure.” Bedivere frowned, a bad feeling in his stomach. Arthur was always so honest, Bedivere always found himself believing everything he said. Bedivere loved that about Arthur, how he was truthful enough that Bedivere never had to doubt a single thing he said. If Arthur said everything was going to be okay, Bedivere would believe him. If Arthur said something wasn’t right, Bedivere would believe him. If Arthur said the world was going to end in two days…

Okay. Maybe that was a stretch, but Bedivere would believe him.

“Be careful while you’re out, alright? It’s really getting dangerous and I don’t want you to get hurt.” Arthur’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah.” Bedivere nodded as he spoke. “You be careful too, Arthur. Call me when you get the chance.”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.” Bedivere hung up before he sighed quietly and pocketed his phone. These murders were getting really out of hand weren’t they? It made Bedivere worry about Gawain, Lancelot, Mash, and Tristan. Arthur too. He seems pretty relaxed about them, and he says that he’s sure everything is going to be fine but…

...that was the only thing Bedivere had a hard time believing.

The murders were terrible, and the killers were still on the loose. The cops didn’t even have a lead to who the killers were. Bedivere wasn’t even worried about his own safety. He was worried about Arthur and what would happen to him.

“Oh? Now that’s a face I haven’t seen in a while.”

The voice came from the dark alleyway directly to Bedivere’s left, making his body settle for the first emotion he felt: alarm. Bedivere whirled around quickly and pulled out the bottle of pepper spray in his pocket.

“Woah there, don’t make a mistake you’ll regret.” Bedivere didn’t move closer to the person, but he squinted. In the darkness of the alleyway, Bedivere could make out a short person with a blonde ponytail. He didn’t need to squint to see glowing green eyes from the dark. Bedivere recognized the person straight away, and he moved to put his bottle of pepper spray away. It was really weird, running into this person here, especially since Gawain said he moved out of the city after Arthur was mugged.

“Mordred…?” He asked, just to make sure. The person grinned at him.

“The one and only.” Bedivere frowned, his body settling for the next emotion in line: confusion.

“What are you doing here? Gawain told me that--”

“I moved out of the city?” Mordred finished Bedivere’s sentence with a knowing tone in his voice. “I did.” Bedivere’s mouth closed, then opened to say something, then closed again, making Mordred laugh. “Don’t look so surprised. I’m just back for a visit.”

“Oh.” Bedivere said dumbly before an awkward silence fell between the two.

“You’re awfully quiet. I’d say it’s because you either can't think of something to say or you have too much to say. Come on, let’s take a walk so that we can make up for lost time.” Mordred walked out from the alleyway and began to to walk down the street. Bedivere blinked in surprise before he rushed to keep up with Mordred, biting lightly at his thumbnail. He looked at Mordred with a curious look.

“When did you get here?”

“Last Wednesday, I think. I can’t really remember.”

“That long?! And you didn’t bother looking for anyone?” Bedivere asked, surprised. Back when Mordred was in the city, he was always the one to suggest that Bedivere and the rest of the group--Arthur, Gawain, Tristan, and Lancelot--go and have something to drink. So if Mordred was back, Bedivere thought the first thing he would do was call Gawain or Arthur and tell them to meet at the bar or something.

“It’s not that I didn’t bother.” Mordred said with a grimace. “I couldn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Bedivere asked worriedly before he saw that Mordred had a bandage on his cheek and neck. That made him panic. “Oh my god, you weren’t attacked by one of those killers were you?” Mordred frowned at him.

“What? No.” He said. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, these attacks all over the news say that the victims are random so I can’t help but worry.” Bedivere explained quietly. “Arthur was telling me how--Mordred?” Bedivere stopped himself short when Mordred stopped walking altogether. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“What was Arthur telling you?” Mordred asked, looking up at him. Bedivere hesitated a little when he saw how Mordred’s eyes shined with something that looked like anger. “Out with it.”

“He was telling me about how dangerous it was getting, that’s all.” Bedivere said quickly. Mordred nodded before they both started walking again. Suddenly, a thought occured to Bedivere and he frowned. “How do you know Arthur’s back? You went away before he went missing.”

“I saw him.”

“Oh! Did you talk to him? It’s been a while since you two last saw each other…” Bedivere’s voice trailed off as he thought about how long it’d acutally been. “Four years? Almost five?”

“I didn’t want to talk to him.” Mordred muttered. Bedivere raised an eyebrow at him.

“Why?”

“Just because. He seems shady.” Bedivere frowned deeply. Arthur was anything but shady. He was really honest and sweet and protective. Nobody thought Arthur was shady, just too nice for his own good.

“What do you mean by that? Arthur’s the nicest guy I know.” Mordred looked at Bedivere and searched his face for a second before he smirked.

“Ohoho...looks like something bloomed between you two while I was gone.” He teased, making Bedivere blush slightly and look off to the side.

“I mean, we’re dating now. So yeah.”

“Congrats.” Mordred stated, but his tone was more sarcastic than congratulatory.

“Thanks…” Bedivere said quietly, but then Mordred asked him something that caught him by surprise.

“Has he told you the truth yet?”

It was Bedivere’s turn to stop, looking at Mordred with a frown and a raised eyebrow. What did Mordred mean by that? Arthur and Mordred weren’t even super close! There couldn’t have been a secret between those two because Arthur told all of his secrets to Bedivere!

“What do you mean?” Bedivere asked, and Mordred sighed.

“Guess not. You might have to find out the hard way at this rate.”

“Find out what? What truth?” Bedivere was worried. Did Mordred mean the truth about Arthur getting mugged? Arthur told Bedivere _everything_ , but the only thing Bedivere didn’t know was what happened the night Arthur got mugged and why he disappeared for a month and a half. “Is it about when he got mugged?”

“Yeah, something like that. I don’t expect that he told you.”

“He didn’t. He won’t tell me anything about what happened that night.”

“Oh.” Mordred said simply as the two began walking a second time. “Does he go out often?”

“Only with Gawain and our group.” Bedivere lied. Something told him that he shouldn’t tell Mordred about how Arthur met up with Merlin and _that_ group. They were all...strange...but Arthur called them friends, and any friend of Arthur’s was a friend of Bedivere’s.

“Are you sure?” Mordred asked, looking at him knowingly. “Don’t lie to me, Bedivere. He doesn’t hang with anyone else?”

“I mean...Arthur spends whatever free time he has with me or Gawain’s family.”

“Oh really? What do you do?” Mordred asked, making Bedivere jump. These days, Arthur wasn’t at Bedivere’s house that often, so he wanted to spend to spend the time he got with Bedivere as intimately as possible. Even if “intimately” meant limping around the house the next day.

“W-well, I didn’t think you were into that kind of stuff…” He said, pink lightly dusting his cheeks. Mordred looked confused, and he squinted at Bedivere before a look of realization crossed his features. Mordred punched his arm in a with a grimace, and even though Mordred was doing it jokingly...that punch really hurt. Bedivere winced slightly as Mordred spoke.

“Ew. I’m not interested in any of that.” He paused. “But it’s ironic. I could’ve sworn I saw Arthur with a couple of college chicks at the bar.” Bedivere frowned deeply.

“A lot of college girls try to flirt with him, but he ignores it.” Mordred sighed with a pitying look.

“Not these two. He looked like he was enjoying the attention.” Bedivere looked at Mordred skeptically before he decided to laugh it off.

“Mordred...I know you and Arthur are kind of like oil and water, but that’s no reason to make it seem--”

“It didn’t seem. It _was_.”

Mordred spoke firmly as the both of them stopped walking for a third time. Bedivere looked at him in disbelief.

“Mordred, what are you talking about?” Bedivere asked incredulously.

“I’m saying that Arthur looked like he was really liking those two girls.” Mordred answered.

“Arthur wouldn’t ditch me for a couple of college girls ogling at his muscles.”

“Maybe not, but how can you say that for sure?’

“Because Arthur isn’t like that!” Bedivere said angrily.

“Arthur is a lot of things you don’t know about.” Mordred said, looking into his eyes. Bedivere noticed how Mordred’s eyes flickered and seemed to look like a bottomless pool, but then he forced himseld to look away.

“Arthur isn’t cruel like that. He wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Yeah he would. It’s his _nature_ now.” Mordred said. “Bedivere, look at me.” Mordred’s voice was heavy and dominant, kind of like how Arthur was when he was alone with him. Bedivere found himself obeying, turning his head so that he could look back into Mordred’s sharp green eyes. They _were_ like a bottomless pit, sucking Bedivere deeper and deeper into Mordred’s spider web of a gaze, and he couldn’t bring himself to look away this time. “I know what I saw that night. We’ve had some good laughs, so I’m telling you this to do you a favor. Arthur was with those two girls, and they were flirting. If I were you…” Bedivere’s eyes widened at the next thing Mordred said.

“I would think _Arthur’s cheating on you_.”

Arthur?! Cheat?! He would never! Arthur was the nicest person Bedivere’s ever met! Nobody loved Bedivere as much as Arthur did! Arthur was…

He was…

_Arthur’s cheating on you._

With two college girls...? Arthur? That was...probably why he always was out of the house. He’d say he was going with Merlin somewhere, or with Ozymandias or Gawain. Little did Bedivere know that he was actually hanging out with two college girls who had too much free time on their hands. Those two girls were probably dying for him to show some skin so that they could see the incredibly sculputred form underneath his shirt. And Arthur...he was probably showing off his muscles on purpose so that he could get compliments. The thought drove Bedivere mad with jealousy, but also…

“Hey, hey! Don’t cry, Bedivere. If I’d known that you loved him that much then I wouldn’t have told you.” Mordred suddenly looked normal, and Bedivere wiped his eyes softly.

“No, no. You did it to help me, so…” Mordred grinned at him slyly, looking into Bedivere’s eyes one more time.

“I’m glad I got you closer to the truth. Just _don’t tell Arthur that you saw me_. I don’t want to start any more trouble with him.” Bedivere nodded silently before Mordred patted his shoulder with a comforting smile. “Hey, I’ve got a few friends waiting for me, so I’m leaving. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” With that, Mordred turned and walked back into the alleyways, leaving Bedivere to stand on the sidewalk alone. Huffing out an upset sigh, Bedivere put in his headphones and decided to go to Tristan’s house to ask him what to do. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard, but Bedivere knew one thing for sure:

He and Arthur were going to have a _long_ talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edgy Gil backstory cuz why not


	21. Wednesday Night

**evening.**

“Cu, stop cheating.”

Shuten glanced up at him across the table the two of them plus Medb and Yan Qing were playing cards before she looked back at her own cards, making him scowl at her.

“If you’re wrong you owe me a meal.” Cu said.

“Deal, give Yan Qing back the ace you put in your right sleeve.” Shuten replied, not looking up from her hand. She heard a scoff from teh blue haired man before she heard shuffling. “That’s your left sleeve. Don’t play dumb.”

“Give him a minute, Shuten.” Medb giggled. “You know how slow he is sometimes.”

“Mordred left at eleven this morning and still isn’t back. I’m tired of waiting, and I’m hungry.” She explained herself without looking at anyone.

“Shu, I know how you feel, but Mr. Calm-and-Collected over there wants us to be bored until Mo talks to the guy that knew Arthur.” Yan Qing said before he placed down a card. “Eight.” Shuten knew the rules of the game, Yan Qing wasn’t lying. The card that he put down was definitely an eight.

“‘Mr. Calm-and-Collected’...” Diarmuid started, an annoyed tone in his voice. “Wants you all to hang low since he killed two people before dawn and the police are probably searching the city now.”

“Wow, you were that hungry? I thought that first meal we had here was going to last you a bit longer…” Medb said.

“I thought so too until Mordred went and saw the other nest.”

“What’s the problem with that?” Cu asked.

“The problem is that now they know Mordred, and Arthur saw Shuten too.” Diarmuid answered scornfully.

“But Mordred saw all of them, didn’t he? So we have that upper hand.” Shuten said, placing down a three from her hand. “Three.”

“Bullshit.” Cu sighed, flipping the card she just placed before his eyebrow twitched. He gathered all the cards and put them in his hand.

“I guess that’s a way to look at it.” Medb said. “So are we still focusing on human allies?”

“I think we should broaden it a bit, princess.” Yan Qing said. “Just to be safe.”

“What do you think we should do?” Shuten asked, actually curious.

“Take out potential allies.” He answered. “People who don’t know now, but might find out in the future.”

“That’s a good thought.” Diarmuid said. “So we can target that boy that Medb talked to and his parents, any of Arthur or Merlin’s human friends, if the guy that Mordred is talking to turns out clueless…”

“He did.” Mordred’s voice chimed from the entrance to their little hideout.

“Look who finally decided to show their face.” Cu said flatly.

“I was doing you a favor.” Mordred shot back. “Bedivere’s clueless, he doesn’t know a thing about Arthur.”

“What about the plan?” Shuten asked, looking at him knowingly. Mordred grinned evilly, his fangs glinting.

“He totally fell for it.” He said. “Poor sap started crying.”

“Harsh, but he’s on our list now.” Medb said.

“How long do you think your hypnosis will last?” Diarmuid asked Mordred.

“Until Arthur gets suspicious, but I did exactly as you told me to.”

“How long will it take before he gets suspicious?” Cu asked carefully. Shuten smirked to herself, enjoying the thrill of not knowing what will happen next.

“Guess we’ll have to find out.”

**night.**

_“Go out with me.”_

_The statement was short. It didn’t take much thought or elaboration. Just a small request that was quick and easy to understand._

_And somehow it was able to raise hell unlike anything Kingu had ever seen before._

_It’d all happened two years ago. With the info Kingu knew now, Gilgamesh and Arthur were freshly turned and they’d been living as vampires for two years, so they couldn’t help a lot of things: their strength, their sensitivity to multiple weaknesses, their thirst...but Enkidu and Kingu didn’t know anything about vampires that night._

_To Enkidu and Kingu, that night started out completely normal._

_Gilgamesh didn’t even bother looking up from his paperwork to give Ishtar his full attention, he simply shifted the paperwork in his hands as Kingu and their twin snickered to each other._

_“Why?” Was all Gilgamesh asked, which was funny because Gilgamesh would usually burst out laughing at a silly request like that. Actually, Gilgamesh wasn’t his usual self at_ **_all_ ** _that night. Kingu should’ve noticed. They should’ve noticed because if they did then they would’ve left with Enkidu before anything terrible happened, but they didn’t notice. Kingu didn’t notice that their own best friend was having a hard time keeping himself from attacking the twins and eating them for dinner._

_“Well, you read what Hans C. Anderson wrote in the paper didn’t you?” Ishtar asked._

_“I did. What about it?” Gilgamesh was really snappy with his words, which didn’t suit how calm he was acting. Kingu should’ve noticed, but they didn’t. They laughed quietly at the answer Ishtar was sure to get at this point._

_“We’d look good together! I can even get you in some of the clothes I’m designing!” Ishtar explained as if it was obvious. Gilgamesh huffed out a sigh and slammed his paperwork onto his desk annoyedly. It usually took a lot more effort to get Gilgamesh irritated like that. Kingu should’ve noticed, but they didn’t. They simply looked back at the game of cards they were playing with Enkidu as a knowing smirk crossed their face._

_“Do you like me?” Gil asked simply, making Ishtar hesitate. “You don’t. At least not romantically, and the feeling is mutual. The only difference is the reason you want us dating is to look good for the papers.” He sighed heavily, crossing his arms. “My answer is no. Make yourself scarce.” That was harsh, even for Gilgamesh. Ishtar wasn’t really being that bad to him, but he was still annoyed as much as he was. Kingu should’ve noticed, but they didn’t. The twins just laughed at how Ishtar was just rejected in the coldest way, and a mortified blush made its way onto her face._

_“Hey! What’s up with you? This isn’t how--” Ishtar started, but then she stopped short. For the first time that night, Gilgamesh looked up at her. His ruby eyes were burning bright, and they were bright enough for Kingu and Enkidu to see it from where they were. Kingu should’ve noticed. It was like all it took was one look and Ishtar knew something was wrong. That’s how it_ **_actually_ ** _was, and Kingu should’ve known. They should’ve known Ishtar knew Gilgamesh was down to his last thread of self-restraint, and that’s why she stopped herself from annoying him any further._

_“Make. Yourself. Scarce.” Gilgamesh repeated threateningly, making Ishtar narrow her eyes and put her hands up in a defensive gesture, watching him intently._

_“Gilgamesh, take it easy.” She said quietly, making Gilgamesh falter for a moment. ‘Take it easy’...Gilgamesh and his nest said that a lot didn’t they? It was like code, a statement they used that made it seem like they were telling each other to snap out of it. Kingu should’ve noticed how tense it had gotten between two, but they didn’t. They were too busy telling Enkidu to shuffle the deck of cards so that they could start a new game._

_“You got your question answered, didn’t you? You can leave.” Gilgamesh said coldly, but Ishtar looked like she was going to be persistent._

_“But you can’t stay like this. You--” Ishtar said._

_“I’m fine.” Gilgamesh cut her off sharply, making her grit her teeth._

_“No you aren’t. I’m calling Ozymandias. You need to get it under control.” She reached for her phone and pulled it out before she dialed the number and waited for Ozymandias to pick up._

_“Ishtar. Don’t.”_

_Ishtar froze, her phone halfway to her ear. Gilgamesh’s tone was so thick with bloodthirst it could’ve suffocated Kingu if they had noticed it then. They should’ve noticed that this was Enkidu and Kingu’s last chance to leave before it all went downhill, but they didn’t. Kingu instead picked up a bottle of wine from on the floor beside the couch and handed it to Enkidu knowing that after Ishtar left, Gilgamesh would want a nice drink._

_“Why? Gilgamesh, you’ll snap at this rate!” She said, but Gilgamesh glared at her with his sharp, glowing eyes. “What’s up with this situation?” Ishtar muttered to herself before taking a deep breath and opting for a gentler approach. “Just take it easy...and I’ll leave you alone, I promise. Just take care of this first.”_

_“There isn’t-- I can’t--” Gilgamesh started before he ruffled his hair frustratedly and huffed out a breath, his fingers twitching. Ishtar squinted a little before a look of realization crossed her face._

_“You don’t have anything to eat here?” Ishtar asked carefully. Gilgamesh shook his head, and Ishtar wet her lips before she spoke again. “Then let me talk to Ozymandias. He’ll bring something for you. Okay?” Gilgamesh nodded quietly, and the atmosphere was much lighter again. At least--for Kingu looking back in retrospect--it_ **_was_ ** _, but even at the time the atmosphere wasn’t dark. Kingu and Enkidu didn’t even notice anything out of the ordinary, but they should’ve. Ishtar put the phone to her ear and spoke._

_“Ozymandias? Yeah...yeah please...and be quick, he won’t be able to hold up much longer.” The conversation was quick and short, and Ishtar hung up. “Five minutes. That’s how long he’ll be.” Gilgamesh nodded again, and it was quiet for a little bit. Enkidu smiled thoughtfully before they grabbed the bottle of alcohol again and gripped the bottle opener in their hand._

_“Here, let me pour you a drink. It’ll help your mind off of what’s bugging you.” Enkidu said as they positioned the bottle opener on the cap of the bottle before they moved to open it. To the twins’ surprise, the neck of the bottle broke and made a deep cut in Enkidu’s hand. They winced and made a pained noise, causing Gilgamesh’s head to snap up from where he sat._

_The events that happened after that were a blur._

_Kingu blinked, and suddenly Gilgamesh wasn’t behind his desk anymore. They heard Enkidu cry out loudly in pain and they whirled around to see what happened. There were three huge gashes on Enkidu's side, and they were bleeding heavily. When Kingu looked to see where Gilgamesh had gone, they saw Isthar trying her best to shove him away from the twins. Both of them had horrifyingly sharp teeth and claws, and their eyes were glowing brightly in the dim room. Kingu held Enkidu close to them in a protective gesture as the both of them looked in horror at the two that were practically wrestling two feet in front of them._

_“Do you_ **_want_ ** _to get eaten?! Move!” Ishtar yelled._

_Get eaten?! What the hell did_ **_that_ ** _mean?!_

_Kingu backed up quickly with Enkidu until they pressed up against the wall, and Kingu made sure that Enkidu was close so that they weren’t in danger. Gilgamesh was out of control. He kept shoving Ishtar out of the way so that he could start moving towards the two twins, but every time Ishtar would move to stop him. She was actually doing a good job in keeping Gilgamesh away from them, but Kingu and Enkidu were worried about their friend. He looked like a madman, but the twins could tell he really didn’t want to hurt them. Like Gilgamesh’s body was moving on it’s own and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. The twins weren’t scared_ **_of_ ** _Gilgamesh…_

_...they were scared_ **_for_ ** _him._

_Ishtar moved to push him away from the twins again, but Gilgamesh practically threw her across the office. He advanced for the two huddled up against the wall. Kingu and Enkidu held onto each other tightly._

_“Gil!” Kingu shouted. “Gilgamesh! It’s going to be okay! Just snap out of it!” Gilgamesh grit his teeth, but he didn’t stop moving. Enkidu flinched their eyes shut as Gilgamesh raised his arm, and Kingu braced themself._

_Then Kingu heard a loud crash._

_Gilgamesh was shoved and tackled to the ground by Ozymandias as Merlin rushed to aid Ishtar to her feet. Two scratched and clawed at each other, flipping each other over and giving each other small injuries. They looked primal and animalistic, their sharp fangs bared at each other and their claws tearing at each other’s clothes. They couldn’t even notice that the poor twins were watching from a distance with wide eyes._

_“Merlin! Get those two out of here!” Kingu couldn’t be more glad to hear Ozymandias’s voice. They felt strong arms pick them up before they were out of the corporation and zooming towards the doctors office. Kingu couldn’t believe how fast they were moving. Merlin was carrying them, right? He was running so fast the cars on the street looked slow! Suddenly, Merlin stopped. So suddenly that Kingu almost fell out of his arms. Kingu looked up to see that they were all in the middle of the waiting room, and the old doctor was running to take care of Enkidu as Ereshkigal rushed up to Kingu in order to get an explanation._

_“Kingu?! What happened?! Hey!” Kingu heard Ereshkigal’s voice, but they couldn’t answer. They couldn’t believe anything that had just happened. It all seemed unreal, like a nightmare, but it had happened. Kingu felt like they couldn’t speak, couldn’t_ **_breathe_ ** _. Kingu picked up the nearest trashcan and emptied his stomach into it before they realized they felt extremely lightheaded. They swayed on their feet before they collapsed onto the floor, and all Kingu could hear was Merlin and Ereshkigal calling their name. Kingu...Kingu…_

“Kingu!”

They gasped, their eyes flying open as they jolted upright in the bed they were in. Kingu took in breath after refreshing breath of oxygen as their eyes darted around wildly. They heard a voice from beside them, but they couldn’t piece together who the voice belonged to.

“It’s okay Kingu...I’m right here...I’m right here...It was just a dream.”

Kingu’s eyes finally settled onto the worried faces of their twin and best friend. Kingu relaxed with a sigh, and they realized how sweaty they were. They cleared their throat before they spoke.

“Where…?”

“The doctor’s office.” Gilgamesh answered promptly. Kingu looked around to see that the rest of Gilgamesh’s nest as well as a boy and a peach haired man were in the room. Ishtar had her arms crossed and wouldn’t look at them, and she instead cast her gaze to the sink.

“You were calling out in your sleep. We tried waking you up, but you were really knocked out.” Arthur said. Kingu shrugged, not looking at their friend. Kingu didn’t want to make Gilgamesh feel any more guilt. He probably felt guilty that he wasn’t there to protect Kingu from the vampire that attacked them, so Kingu didn’t want him to feel more guilty about the fact that they’d just dreamed about the day Gilgamesh regretted the most.

“You gave us quite the scare.” The man with peach hair smiled wryly. “Yesterday night and just now.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t help it.” Kingu said, their voice raspy.

“That’s completely understandable.” The man said, making them frown slightly. “Night terrors are a side effect to one of the drugs I gave you, so I’m not so worried about why it happened. I’m more worried that your increased heart rate caused your wounds to reopen.” The doctor came closer and checked the bandages on his neck and front before he smiled slightly. “None of them did, which is good.”

“Kingu, this is Dr. Roman. He’s the one who patched you up with Nightingale and Ereshkigal.” Ozymandias explained, sensing Kingu’s confusion.

“He patched up Mash too, so it’s not like it’s the first time he dealt with those kinds of injuries.” Nightingale said.

“He patched you up before Ereshkigal even got back from picking up Nightingale. He’s so talented!” They boy said. “I’m Fujimaru Ritsuka, by the way.” Kingu simply nodded in acknowledgement as Roman chuckled.

“I did what I had to. I’m just glad you’re in a more stable condition now, Kingu.” He said, making Kingu nod. “I’m going to go check on another patient. Please be careful.” They all nodded before he left. As soon as Roman was out of sight, Enkidu hugged Kingu tightly, and they hugged their twin back.

“Thank goodness...I was so worried…” Enkidu said softly, sounding like they were trying not to cry. Kingu didn’t say anything. They felt like there was nothing to say. Ereshkigal stepped forward, checking her watch before looking at them.

“In the lobby, there’s a detective that wanted to talk to--” She started.

“Not the time.” Gilgamesh cut her off angrily, making her flinch slightly.

“Hey, take it easy.” Ishtar said, an annoyed tone in her voice.

“Have you eaten yet, Gil?” Kingu asked immediately, remembering the dream they had. A snappy Gil was the first sign that he hadn’t eaten yet.

“Why does that matter now?” Kingu gave him a stern look. Gilgamesh’s eyes softened for a quick moment before he huffed and looked off to the side. “Fifteen minutes ago.” Kingu nodded before they looked at Ereshkigal again.

“A detective wants to talk to you about what happened. Do you want to talk?” She asked.

“Yeah...I’ll talk.” Kingu answered before she nodded and left to get the detective. They went quiet as Enkidu held their hand, looking up at the ceiling with a pensive look before they heard the door open again. Kingu looked to see Roman, a girl with purple hair (who Kingu assumed was Mash), a police officer, and a tall man with a bushy white mustache walking into the room. The man with the mustache looked at him before he smiled comfortingly.

“Hello. I’m Detective Moriarty, and this is Sheriff Arash. I’m just here to ask you a few questions about what happened last night as well as get some clarifications from the others and I’ll leave you to rest, alright?” Kingu nodded. “What’s your name?” They cleared their throat before they spoke.

“Kingu.” Moriarity smiled again.

“Nice to meet you. I’d first like to wish you a quick recovery. It’s not easy to suddenly get hurt like that.”

“You have no idea.” Kingu had to compliment themselves for still being able to crack a wry joke. Moriarity chuckled too, seeming to have the same thought.

“Well, laughter is the best medicine. Let’s get started shall we?” He talked as if someone was telling him to get the small talk over with. “Why don’t you tell me what happened yesterday?” Kingu swallowed and wet their lips before they spoke.

“I was walking home from the fast food joint, and I was on the phone with Enkidu. Then the person jumped down in front of me suddenly and then attacked me.” Kingu described simply.

“Did they have a weapon?” Moriarity asked.

“No.”

“What did they look like?” They were quiet for a moment, and their grip tightened slightly on Enkidu’s hand before they spoke absentmindedly.

“A man. With yellow eyes and long black hair.”

Kingu didn’t look at anyone. They kept their expression blank and their eyes on the ceiling as they spoke like they were in a trance.

“He was as tall as Arthur...maybe even taller...pale skinned, and he had tattoos. A lot of them. Too many of them. On his chest and back and arms.” Kingu continued as Arash took quick notes. “Roses on one arm, dragons on the other, and chinese symbols on his back.” They paused for a moment. “He came out of nowhere when he heard me on the phone with Enkidu. Then he attacked me.” They noticed Gilgamesh’s leg bouncing up and down angrily but didn’t say anything.

“Did you recognize the man?” Moriarity asked.

“No, I’ve never seen him before.” Kingu answered.

“A few of our witnesses say that the people that attacked them looked like…” Moriarity gesticulated with his hands like he was trying to find the right word. “Were-people. Like they had sharp teeth and nails that looked like claws. Did you see anything like that?” Out of their peripheral, Kingu saw the nest give a simultaneous nod--permission to tell the truth.

“Yeah. Teeth, claws, all of it.” Kingu answered, making the Sheriff lean forward interestedly.

“Miss Mash, even though I know I’m not interrogating you at the moment, did you see anything like that the day you were attacked? Please try to remember as much as you can.” Moriarity said. Mash frowned and stayed silent before she spoke.

“My vision was blurred, but her mouth did look like she had longer canine teeth coming out of it. Her grip on my head was painful too, since she scratched my head.” Moriarity nodded as Arash wrote down notes.

“Monday was Ritsuka’s birthday, correct? You all had a small party?” The detective asked.

“Not me and Enkidu, just them and Mash’s family.” Kingu answered, and Moriarity nodded before he turned to Merlin. “Were you there for that party?” Merlin frowned. Kingu knew what that meant. He was forced to speak the truth.

“No.”

“Where were you?”

“Making sure Ristuka and his family were safe since I had a bad feeling.” Kingu knew that was part of the truth. The full truth was that he was doing it because Mordred had said he might turn Ritsuka’s family into vampires too.

“Why are you hurt?” Moriarity pressed.

“I got in a fight with someone.”

“Why?” Ozymandias clicked his tongue as Ishtar’s grip tightened on her pen.

Merlin was cornered.

“I saw someone in trouble and I helped them.”

“Who did you help?”

“A little girl who was looking death in the eyes.” Arash circled something on his paper.

“How’d you do it?”

“I pushed whoever was attacking her.”

“The same way Arthur did?”

“Arthur has nothing to do with this.” Merlin’s gaze on Morarity was piercing now. “I helped her out of my own choice.”

“Take it easy.” Arthur said quietly. Kingu narrowed his eyes slightly at that. Usually it was Merlin telling the others to ‘take it easy’...not the other way around. The others could probably tell there was something bugging him.

“Well in that case, you confess.” Merlin took a deep breath before he sighed.

“I confess to saving a girl from becoming a patient here, or--even worse--a victim on your list.”

“The little girl you speak of told us everything she saw, including the appearance of everyone at the scene. You fit the description she gives.” Roman looked at the detective in disbelief, but 

Merlin placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Do I really?” Merlin asked with a feigned smile. “My teeth are about as sharp as your intellect and my nails are shorter than the amount of patience I have left. I don’t think I match the description you’re talking about.” Moriarity looked offended at the harsh jokes, but Merlin didn’t care. He showed them his teeth and nails, making Arash and Moriarity look a little confused. For a short moment, Kingu thought Merlin was in the clear, but then Moriarity spoke again.

“What if we took you to the girl and she recognizes you?”

“I doubt she will, but if she does and you’re brave enough then you’re welcome to take a closer look at me.” Merlin stated, finally giving some sort of hint to how annoyed he actually was. It was rare for Merlin to break his cheeky and carefree facade, so this whole situation was definitely bugging him.

“In that case, we’re going to have to ask you to come with us.” Arash spoke for the first time since he entered the room, moving and handcuffing the florist. He didn’t resist or attack the officer even though he could easily tear both Arash and Moriarity apart. He simply looked at how the handcuffs clicked around his wrists. It was such a usless attempt to keep Merlin under their contol, and Kingu knew that Merlin could break the fragile tool around his wrists. A slight tug on them was all it would take, but the vampire stood deadly still.

“Hang on just a second--” Roman started.

“Defending him will make you join him as a suspect of more than ten cases of first degree murder.” Moriarity cut him off.

“Saving a little girl makes him a suspect?!” Roman demanded angrily, making Merlin look at him in surprise. “Would that make the person who actually attacked that girl innocent?!”

“You’re a doctor, not a lawyer, Mr. Archaman.”

“I don’t need to be a lawyer to know that you’ve got the wrong guy!”

“Do you really know everyone in this room enough to make that claim?” An outraged look bloomed onto Roman’s face, but he didn’t argue. “Just make sure Kingu recovers properly. Let’s go, deputy.” Moriarity said.

“Wait, what about me? Working off of your logic...I saved Mash, so how am I not a suspect?” Arthur asked quickly.

“Are you confessing?” Moriarity asked in response, turning and making eye contact with Arthur. That was a big mistake on the detective’s part, which led to an even bigger mistake on Arthur’s part.

“ _Answer the question._ ” Arthur stated firmly. “How am I not a suspect?”

“Hey!” Gilgamesh hissed, and Kingu knew what happened immediately. Arthur just brainwashed the detective.

Right in front of Mash, Roman, and the sheriff.

“Abby described the person who attacked her as a person with blonde hair and green eyes. Even though that matches you, we didn’t think you would attack a little girl within a week of saving Mash.” Moriarity explained before he narrowed his eyes. The detective knew something was up. “If that’s all of your questions, we’ve asked all of ours. Goodnight.”

With that, the detective, sheriff, and vampire were gone.

The room was silent before Ereshkigal walked up to Mash and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Mash, let’s go get you in bed so that Roman can do your night checkup.” She said calmly.

“Don’t bother, Ereshkigal. I’ll help her.” Roman muttered, helping Mash to her feet before they both left. Silence fell over the room again before Kingu heard a loud _snap_. When they looked to see what the noise was, Kingu saw that Ishtar had gripped her pen so tightly it broke. Ink splattered onto her hand, the wall, and the floor, but she didn’t care.

“What the _hell_ were you thinking Arthur?” She demanded.

“I wasn’t. I just did it.” Arthur answered, frustratedly running a hand through his hair. “Don’t annoy me anymore either because I’m two hairs away from drinking what’s left in the fridge.”

“Get in line. Merlin’s been caught and we aren’t any closer to the other nest then we were.” Ozymandias said, his tone dark.

“Hang on! Let’s all just calm down for a second and use what we have.” Ritsuka said. “Kingu, the guy who hurt you, did he say his name?”

“No.” Kingu answered.

“Did he say anybody’s name?”

“Mordred. The man that attacked me and the woman that attacked Mash as well as the vampire who was here. They’re all in one nest.” They finally brought their gaze to look at everyone. “They know who Arthur and Merlin are through whoever Mordred is, but...”

“But what?” Ereshkigal asked softly. She was trying to keep up a nice facade, probably because she didn’t want to scare Nightingale, Ritsuka, and the twins, but Kingu could tell she was just as angry as everyone else. Kingu grit their teeth and brought themself to look at the nest as they felt tears prick at the back of their eyes.

“They want to know more.” Kingu knew the tells of Gilgamesh’s nest. If you told them their nest or someone related to the nest was in danger, they’ll twitch. It’s a slight twitch, but it’s noticeable. Kingu was just surprised at how late it was since Merlin was just escorted out with the police.

“So you’re saying the other vampires want information.” Ishtar said flatly. Kingu nodded.

“Are they going to spy on us now? How much do they want to toy with us before they all get their heads torn off?” Gilgamesh seethed as he stood, making Kingu grab his arm tightly. They winced at the pain in their broken ribs, but they ignored it.

“No, Gilgamesh!” Kingu said, their tone desperate enough to make the nest look worried. “This isn’t even a matter of them being after your nest anymore!”

“Then what?” Their friend hissed. Kingu needed them all to understand the position the nest was faced with. Kingu felt like they were forcing the information out of themself as tears leaked out of their eyes.

“They’re after the humans that _know_ .” Kingu emphasized. “Enkidu and Nightingale and Ritsuka...that immediately puts them in danger. Roman and Bedivere and Ritsuka’s family...even that stupid detective and sheriff are in danger, if they all manage to find out the way we all did.” They held Gilgamesh’s gaze before they looked around at the other vampires. “That puts _every human around you_ in danger.” It was silent in the room for a bit before Enkidu patted their arm.

“Kingu…” They said soothingly. “That’s good enough. You should get some rest.” Kingu let go of Gilgamesh’s arm before relaxing and draping their good arm over their eyes.

“I’m going to follow Merlin.” Arthur sighed after a moment.

“If you’re going then I’ll go too.” Gilgamesh said. “If you show up by yourself and get caught they’ll think you’re turning yourself in.”

“Are you following him or breaking him out?”

Nightingale asked the question as she looked at the two sternly. Kingu knew what the nurse meant. Gilgamesh and Arthur were recently turned vampires, so they were quick to act on emotion. Those two didn’t think things through if something rubbed them the wrong way, which was why newly turned vampires were so hard to deal with.

“We’re going to talk to him.” Gilgamesh said.

“Hey, take it easy for a sec.” Ishtar intervened, making both of them look at her. “You’re going to do something reckless. Calm down before you go tearing down the police station.”

“We weren’t planning to.” Arthur replied, his words vague. “We’re just going to chat.”

“Don’t break Merlin out.” Ereshkigal said slowly, making sure the two understood. “You’ll get us in more trouble that way.”

“If we want him out then I can pay to get him out.” Ozymandias added. “Just get information from him for now.”

“Fine.” Gilgamesh answered curtly before the two blondes left.

“Kingu, you should get some rest.” Ritsuka said. “It’s been a rough night.” Kingu nodded, just about done with everything at this point. They heard everyone stand up and leave before they sighed heavily. Even though the nest seemed so cautious, they kept pushing their luck. They all kept making simple mistakes that could get them in trouble, but they didn’t seem worried enough about it. Kingu closed their eyes, more to settle themselves than anything. They couldn’t sleep after the dream they just had, and the situation in front of them wasn’t really playing out well either.

Kingu had a bad feeling about this.


	22. Wednesday Night (continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: Gil and Arthur throw hands
> 
> This chapter is two sections long but damn if it isn’t full of P L O T

**night.**

Merlin didn’t have a single clue how it came to this.

No seriously, he really didn’t have the  _ slightest _ idea how he was in this situation. He saved that little girl, didn’t he? So he shouldn’t be a suspect. He shouldn’t be waiting for Deputy Arash to pull him out of the car and towards the police station so that the little girl could tell the detectives that Merlin was the one who saved her, not the one who attacked her. The one who attacked her, Mordred, was still out and about. Probably planning how he was going to bug Arthur again, but this time he would bug him enough for Arthur to go berserk. Then Arthur would  _ really _ be a suspect. Okay yeah, maybe Merlin was a little reckless in letting a twelve year old girl witness a vampire fight, but at least she wasn’t dead! Merlin practically  _ handed _ the police a new lead!

They should be thanking him!

Merlin really couldn’t understand why the people were against him now. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Merlin protected someone in danger, and here he was being treated like he was the one who hurt them. The frustration he felt was making his fangs hurt and a quiet itch of thirst began pestering at him. Merlin wasn’t dumb--or, he  _ was _ ...just not all the time--and he could tell all of the detective’s emotions during the interrogation. Ereshkigal and the others may have thought the man was too smart for his own good, but Merlin knew so much more. Hatred, confusion, fear...Merlin was familiar with all of it. Those emotions were directed at him during the interrogation, and they were used to make him into something that he wasn’t. He was innocent, and he was being accused of being a murderer.

Just like  _ that _ time--

Suddenly, Merlin’s thoughts were interrupted when his door opened and his head whipped to the Deputy, who grabbed his wrist and began pulling him out of the vehicle.

“Hey, don’t be so harsh.” Merlin said wryly. “Just give me some space and I’ll get out on my own.” Arash was stubborn, and he wouldn’t back away.

“You have the right to remain silent, and don’t resist either.” He muttered the warning before he manhandled Merlin out of the car. Merlin had to bite his tongue to keep himself from arguing as he urged himself to keep calm so that he wouldn’t accidentally break the Deputy’s arm. He let himself be yanked out of the back of the cop car as he sighed quietly, knowing that the others were probably up the walls with anger by now. Gilgamesh and Arthur were the two Merlin was worried about the most, not because they were recently turned and their thirst was more sensitive to emotion instead of just being hungry...but because they both looked like they were going to slaughter the detective the second the wrinkly bastard had him cornered. He hoped Ozymandias or Ereshkigal had it all under control, but they were probably really annoyed too…

Merlin couldn’t even think about that now since he spotted the detective that had grilled him during the interrogation, Moriarity, waiting by the front door of the police station. He forced himself to smile slightly, making the detective narrow his eyes at him. Even though Merlin could tell the man was hostile towards him, the detective silently eyed Merlin until they were face to face.

“It looks like you aren’t as slow as your age makes you out to be.” Merlin said jokingly.

“You aren’t in any place to be smiling.” Moriarity said bitterly.

“Why?” Merlin asked, tilting his head innocently. “I haven’t done anything wrong.” The detective grit his teeth.

“Until the girl says otherwise, you’re a suspect.” He stated before looking at Arash. “Holmes will come with Abby in forty-five minutes. Leave him in an empty cell until then.” Arash nodded, and Merlin let the Deputy guide him into the police station. Once Merlin felt Moriarity was out of earshot, he sighed before he spoke.

“You don’t actually believe that I’m a criminal, do you?” Merlin asked quietly. “I thought you had eyes of justice that could pick out the innocent from the guilty.” Arash was quiet, and Merlin could hear his heart rate pick up nervously.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Arash said, shaking his head.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Merlin kept his gaze in front of him in order to look natural and Arash followed his example. “Ozymandias already told you that we aren’t the ones you need to chase, so why are you doing this?”

“I’m just doing my job.” Arash muttered.

“As a cop or as a pawn?” Merlin asked, a knowing tone in his voice. Arash made an annoyed noise before he huffed out a sigh.

“I dunno.”

“Arash, you know just as well as I do that you can’t take down this nest with ‘Squad A’.” Merlin said. “You’d be killing yourself and your entire force. Who knows, one of you might even be turned.”

“Then who else is here to drive them out?” Arash asked through gritted teeth. “Moriarity and Holmes know something inhuman is attacking the city, but even if they find out they can’t take on a whole nest by themselves. I’m the only one out of all three of us that know everything completely, and I know better than to get myself wrapped up in this any more than I am. Who else can get this nest out of here?”

“You already know that answer.” Merlin replied. “Just leave it to us and we’ll handle it.”

“That isn’t what Ozymandias and I agreed on.” Arash insisted. “He told me your nest and I would work together. I’d cover you so that you aren’t found out, and you exterminate the rats and call it another Tuesday. What happened?”

“The situation has gotten dangerous enough that humans can’t get involved.”

“Humans  _ always _ get involved. It’s  _ always _ been dangerous for humans to get involved.” Arash said coldly. “Even during the last killing spree, a couple of humans got thrown in the mix and the next thing I know Ozymandias is telling me two of his buddies were turned.” Merlin frowned as they approached an empty cell.

“Gilgamesh and Arthur were attacked the same way the other victims were.” He said.

“But they were human, weren’t they? And they were forced into a situation that involved vampires? Which is dangerous?” Arash asked, opening the door and guiding Merlin inside. “You know that when it comes to vampires, every human in the area is in danger since any one of them could become food.” Merlin had to hand it to the man, he had a point. “So you’re going to tell me...right here, right now, Merlin. What’s going on? What happened to the plan we had?” Merlin paused, not really knowing how to answer the question. He swallowed shallowly before he spoke.

“Arash, I’m not exactly sure what the plan is right now.” Merlin said seriously, ignoring the bars between him and the deputy as the door closed. “The way a nest works is that we plan things together. If Ozymandias trusts you, then I do too, but you have to help me out of this mess. I’m not the bad guy here.” Arash was silent for a few moments as Merlin searched his face. The man was really hesitant, but he and Ozymandias were best friends. This was the deputy that helped the banker avenge his murdered fiance and brother, after all, so there wasn’t a reason for Arash to turn his back on someone Ozymandias was close with. Arash sighed before he took off his hat and ran a defeated hand through his hair.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“If you do good then you get 25% off your next bouquet the next time you walk into the shop. It’s a killer bargain.” Merlin said jokingly. Arash chuckled with a shake of his head before he left. He watched silently as the deputy waved over his shoulder and disappeared. Merlin made himself comfortable on the bed before he looked up at the cement ceiling, hugging the pillow over his chest. So he was really being falsely accused of murder, huh? Deja vu has never hit Merlin harder. He couldn’t help but think about the day his old city found out he was a vampire.

_ “Someone like him doesn’t deserve to live here!” _

_ “He should be killed so that all those filthy bloodsuckers know to keep their teeth away from us!” _

_ “How can he bring himself to look anyone in the eyes after what his kind did to our city?!” _

Rejection, fear, misunderstanding...those people didn’t listen to anything Merlin said in order to defend himself. They were all afraid of him and what they  _ thought _ he would do, not what he actually did. Nobody accepted Merlin for who he was, they only saw him for what he was turned into. Everyone thought he was a monster…

Except for  _ him _ .

  
  


That’s right...Roman didn’t care what Merlin was, he saw the vampire for the cheeky person he was, not as anything else. He was so gentle, no matter how many times he called Merlin an idiot. Even when Roman was healing his face, his hands were cautious and light...like he was afraid he would hurt Merlin in some way. He had even defended Merlin when Arash handcuffed him! The only reason his nest mates didn’t speak up was because they knew Arash was on their side...but Roman didn’t even know Merlin that well! Merlin had only caught him by surprise a few times when he kissed him, but other than that there was no reason for Roman to speak up in Merlin’s defense.

Yet Roman still treated Merlin like he was human.

That thought sent Merlin’s mind moving at a mile a minute. Where was Roman now? Was he alright? Was Ereshkigal keeping him safe like she promised? What if he went outside? Would he be okay? What if he was attacked? Merlin had no idea what he would do if Roman was hurt. The thought made his thirst annoy him more and he hugged the pillow a little tighter, his fangs sliding down no matter how much he tried to stop them. Roman was the only human who accepted Merlin and wasn’t afraid of him. If the other nest decided to attack him…

Death would be  _ mercy _ compared to what Merlin would do to them.

Merlin forced himself to snap out of it so that if someone showed up, they wouldn’t find him trying to stop himself from tearing up the pillow in his arms. He took a few calming and steadying breaths before he retracted his fangs and sighed, draping his forearm over his eyes. What was he doing? He needed to look somewhat human for when the little girl saw him or else he would really be in trouble! Merlin rubbed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling pensively before he heard something.

“Merlin…?”

Was he just hearing things? Was he finally going insane? Merlin had been out of it since the detective turned on him at the doctor’s office so he wouldn’t be surprised if he was hearing things.

“Merlin?” The voice was closer now, but still hushed. Like the person was trying to stay quiet enough so that others wouldn’t hear them. “Are you over here?” Merlin quickly sat up on the bed and pressed his pointed ear against the wall. The person’s voice sounded exactly like...

“Arthur?” He questioned in a hushed voice.

“Merlin! Hey! Gilgamesh, I found him!” Arthur sounded like he was whispering urgently. Which was good, at least he still remembered that their nest was trying to stay hidden. But wait...Gilgamesh was with him too? Kingu was awake, weren’t they? Shouldn’t he be making sure his best friend was okay?

“Gilgamesh is with you?” Merlin asked.

“I don’t want to say ‘I told you so’...but I totally told you so.” Gilgamesh made his presence known immediately. All three of them kept their voices whisper quiet so that they wouldn’t get caught. Since a vampire’s ears were sharper than any animals’, it didn’t matter if Arthur and Gilgamesh were four buildings down or right on the other side of the wall. The three of them would be able to hear each other’s voices as if they were speaking face to face. The only thing Merlin had to worry about was someone walking by his cell and seeing him talking to the wall. That would be awkward. Merlin shifted and sat so that his back was against the wall and he barely moved his lips when he spoke. That way he would look normal while he watched his cell door for people intently.

“This is what happens when you pick fights in an open space.” Gilgamesh sounded like he didn’t almost lose control over himself last night.

“Says the one who almost got in a fight with Ishtar in the lobby of the doctor’s office.” Merlin teased.

“At least she’s one of our nest and there wasn’t that much of a risk.” Gilgamesh shot back.

“Merlin, are you okay? They aren’t going to tourture answers out of you are they?” Merlin had a couple of thoughts about that. One: Arthur sounded like the very existence of the police station depended on his answer, and two: Arthur watched too many CSI movies. The flourist laughed lightly.

“First of all, take it easy.” He used their code phrase to make sure the two were under control before he spoke. “Second of all, I’m fine. I’m not going to get hurt. I’m just sitting in a cell by myself waiting for the other detective to show up with the little girl I saved. They’re just going to see if the little girl recognizes me as the person who saved her. When she does, they’ll take a closer look at me to make sure I don’t fit their description. Hopefully, they’ll let me out afterwards.”

“You act like there’s no risk.” Merlin heard the grimace in Gilgamesh’s words.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Merlin said. “What happened after I left?”

“Nothing too bad. We all chewed Arthur out for brainwashing the detective.” Merlin forgot that happened, but that was a huge mistake.

“Yeah, that was risky.” Merlin commented.

“Then Kingu told us what the other nest is really after.” Gilgamesh said before they went quiet.

“Well? Don’t leave me in suspense. I can’t read your mind.” Merlin joked.

“They’re after the humans that know about us.” Arthur said. “So Ritsuka, Nightingale, Arash, Enkidu, and Kingu. They’re all targets. Kingu is in more danger than all of them since they survived.”

“Hmmm...what about the ones at a risk of knowing?” Merlin asked. “Did Kingu mention that?”

“Yeah, actually.” Arthur answered, making Merlin narrow his eyes. Roman was in danger...so were Mash, Gawain, Tristan, and Lancelot...and Bedivere...and the new secretary Gilgamesh promoted, Siduri...and Ozymandias’s co-workers, Nitocris and Cleopatra...and Ishtar’s most loyal customer, Parvati...even the two detectives that keep wanting to force the secret out of his nest...the list of people at risk just kept growing. Merlin felt a little stressed.

“But they didn’t say that they were actually targeting them.” Gilgamesh said

“We’ll keep them out of this anyway.” Merlin said immediately. “After all, it would be bad if your secretary or Bedivere was attacked or killed? Maybe even turned?” He made them pay attention to the weight of the situation, by making them feel protective of the ones they knew they could understand that there wasn’t any more room for mistakes.

“Yeah.” Arthur said darkly.

“So then we just need to take it easy and make sure those people are completely clueless. We can’t even allow them to be suspicious.” Merlin sighed.

“Easier said than done.” Gil muttered.

“Maybe, but this is serious.” Merlin agreed. “Anyway, I have to admit it. I messed up.”

“Well, at least you aren’t the only one.” Arthur said, a wry tone in his voice. “We really need to be careful now.” Merlin was quiet as he decided it was time to talk seriously.

“So what are you two doing here?” He asked. “Don’t tell me you’re here to make another careless mistake by breaking me out.”

“W-well…” Arthur started, and Merlin frowned slightly.

“Didn’t Kingu or Ozymandias or even Ritsuka try to stop you at all? Breaking me out won’t solve anything.”

“Why? The chance is in front of you isn’t it?” Gilgamesh asked, dodging the question. Merlin understood the situation immediately.

“So that’s how it is. You half truthed. You told them you were just here to talk, but you're going to break me out after we’re done talking.” Merlin stated.

“What? No.” Arthur said, but Merlin had already figured them out.

“Don’t.” He said firmly. “I’m fine. If it gets bad then I can just break myself out. Or Ozymandias can pay for my way out.”

“But then Deputy Judas will tell the detectives about everything.” Gilgamesh said.

“Arash is still on our side. He was acting.” Merlin stated, frowning at how Gilgamesh was accusing Arash of being a traitor.

“So then he’s still helping us?” Arthur sounded surprised. Merlin couldn’t believe that the two freshly turned vampires couldn’t see through such a bad act.

“He’s been telling Ozymandias everything the detectives have been finding out so far.” He explained.

“So then Ozymandias is--” Arthur started before Merlin suddenly heard stern voices headed for his cell.

“Someone’s coming.” Merlin hushed Arthur quickly, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the door.

“Wait, what?” Arthur sounded a little panicky.

“Just take it easy and go straight back to the office. Don’t do anything stupid either. That’s my job.” Merlin stretched himself out on the bed so that he looked completely normal before the footsteps approached his cell.

“Deputy, the only proof that Merlin is as innocent as you say is Abby. That’s final.”

Merlin recognized the voice as the detective that interrogated Mash, or Moriarity’s partner. What was his name again? Lums? Koombs? He frowned deeply and ran through a list of names that could fit a detective, but none of them seemed to click. Merlin waited until he heard his cell door open before he looked over at the man standing in the doorway. Arash was behind him with a worried look on his face, so Merlin decided to be cautious. He let the man do the talking, instead of talking himself out of this.

“Merlin.” The detective acknowledged.

“Detective.” Merlin mirrored the acknowledgement.

“I really hate to put you in this situation…” Merlin didn’t need to listen for a heartbeat to know the detective was lying. His pretend formal tone said it all. “But we’re just going to let you see the girl that you claim you saved. She has her friend with her, but that’s just for moral support. We’re only going to listen to what you and Abby say.” So whatever Abby’s friend tried to say weren’t going to be taken into consideration. Good to know. Merlin got himself to his feet and walked to the detective, forcing himself to smile slightly as he spoke.

“Lead the way, detective.” The man allowed Arash to walk into the cell and guide Merlin behind the detective’s footsteps before they reached a plain looking room that looked a lot like the ones in the movies, with the silver lighting and all. There was even a chair for the criminal to sit with their hands cuffed! Arash let him in and sat Merlin into the chairs before he cuffed his arms to the cool metal. Merlin let his arms go completely still in the fragile cuffs. If Merlin even  _ twitched _ , his wrist would be free, and breaking a chair made of thick metal wasn’t a very human way to escape. The lights were bright enough to make his sensitive eyes throb, but it wouldn’t be bad if the whole interrogation didn’t last for too long. The detective leaned over the table the way the bad cops in the movies did, and he looked at Merlin intently. Wow, Merlin really felt like he was in a movie!

“Abby’s going to come in now. She’s Mr. Carter’s niece. He’s a famous lawyer in the city.” He said, and Merlin recognized the lawyer’s name immediately. What an amazing piece of information to know. “As by the Miranda Warning: you have the right to remain silent.”

The Miranda warning...Merlin had heard of that through Gawain. Merlin and Arthur only knew the statement through TV shows, but Gawain had told them that it actually was a warning the criminal got saying that whatever they say can be used against them in court and the criminal had the right to not answer questions. That meant that Merlin could answer any questions he felt were necessary, right? He could answer them all, and he could keep his mouth shut through all of it. That sounded easy enough. Merlin leveled the detective’s gaze before he nodded, making the detective signal for the girls to be brought in. The two girls shuffled in quietly, and Merlin recognized the girl he saved immediately, a girl with orange-ish hair and a teddy bear held tightly in her arms. The other girl he didn’t recognize, she was a girl with white hair who was just as tall as Abby. They both sat down on the two chairs on the other side of the table, and they kept their gazes away from Merlin. Sensing that the girls were uncomfortable and probably scared, Merlin looked at a filing cabinet in the corner of the room and waited.

“Abby, take a good look at this man. Does he look like the man who saved you?” Moriarity asked. Merlin heard a hesitant noise from in front of him, but he still kept his eyes on the filing cabinet.

“Lavinia, I’m scared.” Abby whispered, making Merlin frown slightly. There was nothing to be scared of. Merlin was the fluffiest dumbass to ever exist! He was everything  _ but _ scary!

“It’s okay. He’s cuffed, see?” Merlin heard the girl with white hair speak. “He can’t drink your blood if he’s cuffed.” Merlin kept a stone face as his eyes quickly darted to Arash, who looked just as surprised as Merlin felt. The detectives looked unimpressed, and Merlin remembered that they weren’t taking anything the friend said into consideration, which was a huge relief. Merlin felt Abby’s eyes on him for a few moments before she hugged her teddy bear tightly.

“Yeah, it’s him.” She said quietly. “Mr. Holmes, it’s him.”

Oh boy.

Merlin brought his gaze to the girls again before he smiled comfortingly, making sure he looked as human as possible. These two little girls knew about vampires, but as long as they didn’t know about Merlin’s nest they’d be safe from the enemy nest.

“Merlin, before you saved Abby, did you know her from somewhere?” Holmes asked. Merlin thought a couple steps ahead of the detective. If he said that he didn’t know the girl, then there would be no reason for him to drop in and save her. That would make it look like he was following Abby so that he could attack her. If he said that he knew that Abby was Carter’s niece and he had good terms with Carter, then it would seem like how Arthur and Mash’s situation played out. Arthur saw someone he knew in danger, so he helped them. However, if he made himself connected to Arthur’s case, that wouldn’t be good for him and Arthur. Merlin didn’t hide himself when he saved Abby, so they’ll suspect that Arthur matches their inhuman description too.

“We’ll ask you again. Do you know Abby from somewhere?” Moriarity pressed. Merlin looked over at the two detectives with a small smile as he decided to make it seem like he knew Abby.

“Of course.” He stated before he smiled kindly at Abby. “Mr. Carter and I are good friends. He buys a bouquet of pansies every week for his niece. It’s a bouquet I look forward to making every week.” Abby squinted at him innocently, like she was thinking about how Merlin might not be a bad guy after all.

“But you didn’t recognize Abby at the time of the attack?” Moriarity asked. This was a perfect opportunity to lead the two girls into thinking he was human.

“It was dark out, detective.” Merlin answered. “The only light was coming from the inside of the grocery store. You do the math.” Moriarity eyed him before Sherlock tried a different question.

“So then let’s shift to what Abby saw.” Sherlock said, looking at Abby, who gripped her teddy bear again.

“I-I saw claws...and teeth, but…” Abby started.

“But what, Abby?” Lavinia asked gently.

“He doesn’t have them.” Merlin felt triumphant. This was good. Even if the two detectives were to check Merlin’s mouth and fingers, they wouldn’t find anything. Unless a vampire let their claws and fangs out, there were only two ways you could check to see if they had them to begin with. One: if you annoyed the vampire enough to trigger their thirst, or two: if you cut off a vampires fingertips and knocked their teeth out. Of course, the only way to actually do that kind of damage to a vampire was if you had silver tools, and nobody carried silver tools around anymore.

“Arash.” Sherlock said simply. Arash walked up to Merlin and closely inspected his fingers. Merlin could feel how nervous the man was in the way Arash’s hands trembled slightly. Merlin then bared his teeth, making Abby flinch and Arash cringe. Lavinia hugged her comfortingly as she squinted at his mouth. Arash was quick in looking at his mouth before he looked at the two detectives.

“Nothing. He’s normal.” Arash muttered, making the two detectives frown.

“M-maybe I was seeing things, but Mr. Flourist is a good guy.” Abby said quietly. Yes! That was it! He was in the clear!

“I told you. I’m no killer. Just a helpless florist trying to survive in a cruel world.” Merlin sighed as he looked at Moriarity, who looked annoyed at how the situation turned out before he let Arash uncuff Merlin. Once he was free, Merlin stood and stretched.

“So it’s true then?” Abby was directing the question at him, so he looked down at her. “You’re not a monster?” That was a question Merlin could answer honestly.

“No, I’m not.” He smiled before he moved to leave. Merlin took Arash’s arm and tugged him out of the room.

“Where…?” Arash started confusedly.

“Come on, Deputy. I need you to call someone for me since my phone is still at the office.” Merlin half truthed with a silly smile. As they both walked away from the room, Merlin glanced behind him to make sure they weren’t being followed. Once the detectives and girls were out of earshot, Merlin turned to the officer. “Those girls--”

“Don’t ask me. I have no idea how they know. This is the first time I’m seeing them face to face, so don’t even think that I told them.” Arash said quickly before he fished his phone out of his pocket. “Here, call Ozymandias and tell him everything, then go straight back to the office. You don’t need to look more shady than you already are.” Merlin dialed Ozymandias’s number and put the phone up to his ear. He was glad that Ozymandias was quick to answer.

“Arash. What’s the situation now?”

“Wow.” Merlin joked. “Do you always greet people like this over the phone?”

“Merlin?” Ozymandias sounded surprised. “Good thing it’s you. Now I can tell Ereshkigal to stop busying herself with any piece of paperwork she finds. You know how she is.” Merlin laughed lightly. Similar to the way stress eating works, when Ereshkigal was stressed, she worked. Merlin could imagine her being surrounded by piles of finished paperwork since she was worried about him.

“Yeah, give her a break.” He said, listening to how Ozymandias informed everyone that he was fine. Merlin didn’t need the phone by his ear to know Ereshkigal was dizzy with relief. 

“So what’s the deal?” Ozymandias asked.

“I’m good to go. Suspicion is gone.” Merlin glanced over at Arash, who was giving him a stern look. “Kind of. Anyway, did Arthur and Gilgamesh get back yet?” Ozymandias was quiet for a few seconds.

“Merlin, I thought they were talking to you.”

Uh oh.

“They talked to me for a little bit before I had to get interrogated again. I told them to go straight back to the office.” Merlin said, making Arash give him a confused look.

“That’s great. Did you tell them to look both ways before crossing the street while you were at it?” Ozymandias asked sarcastically.

“No, I thought you handled that.” Merlin replied just to spite him.

“Dammit, Merlin.” Ozymandias huffed on the other end of the phone. “I tried calling them both but neither of them are answering the phone.

“Did they say they were going anywhere else?” Merlin asked.

“No. I have no idea where they could’ve gone.” Merlin grimaced, but sighed in defeat. “Just hurry and go after them. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“On it.” Merlin pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up before he turned to Arash.

“What’s going on?” The deputy asked as Merlin took his arm and hurried to the exit of the police station.

“Gilgamesh and Arthur are missing, and I don’t have a phone or means of transportation to find them.” Merlin explained quickly.

“What?!” Arash demanded, but Merlin didn’t elaborate. The deputy stopped walking, and Merlin turned to look at him. “Hang on! What about Holmes and Moriarity? I can’t just walk out of here without telling them anything! They’ll think you kidnapped me! Jesus, it’s like you  _ want _ to get caught!” Merlin grit his teeth at how his ears suddenly rang painfully and burned at the mention of God’s name, and Arash hesitated. “Shit, my bad.”

“It’s fine. Just tell the detectives that I can’t drive so you’re taking me back to the office. I’ll meet you in your car.” He said before he hurried to the exit. Arthur and Gilgamesh really had some nerve, going off on their own at a time like this. Merlin could only hope that they didn’t split up as he approached the doors of the police station. He only stopped when he heard a little girl’s voice.

“Florist.”

Merlin turned in the direction of the voice to see that Abby and her friend, Lavinia, were sitting on the bench right beside him. Abby was asleep and leaning on Lavinia’s shoulder, but Lavinia was watching him intently.

“Hmmm?” Merlin looked at her curiously, hoping that she wouldn’t stall him.   
“You don’t make it obvious at all. The detectives were fooled.” She said. Merlin decided against saying something in return, knowing that she could go tell the detectives everything if she wanted to. “You hide it really well,  _ vampire _ .” That made it official. Lavinia knew his secret. Merlin was about to tell her that he wasn’t a bad guy, but stayed silent after he thought for a moment. If she was against Merlin then she would’ve told Abby to rat him out by now.

Lavinia was too damn smart for her own good.

“You aren’t after us, are you?” She asked, but it wasn’t accusatory. It was like her course of action depended on his answer. Merlin smiled slightly at her, deciding that he needed to keep both girls out of the problem between the nests or else they would be on someone’s hitlist.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said simply. “I’m just a florist, but you can get half off your next bouquet if you keep yourself and Abby out of trouble.” With that, he turned and walked quickly to Arash’s car. Merlin glanced around to make sure nothing else was abnormal before he opened the door and sat in the passenger’s seat. Merlin’s brain began moving at a mile per minute. If he was Arthur and Gilgamesh, where would he be? Obviously not at the doctor’s office, so they weren’t with Kingu, Enkidu, and Ritsuka. With Gawain, Lancelot, Tristan, and Bedivere maybe? Gilgamesh had never met them before, though, and there was no occasion that they would  _ need _ to meet. At Capture Co.? No, there’s no reason for them to be there. Where else could they be? Merlin huffed out a sigh as he ran more possibilities in his head. Arash opened the door and sat beside him.

“They let me go for three hours, but the police department just issued a lockdown on the city just for tonight and tomorrow night. Nobody is allowed out of their house past eight thirty unless it’s a life threatening emergency.” He sighed. “Let’s find where your friends went.”

“Head for Gilgamesh’s apartment by the pharmacy first. I’m going to call a few people.” Merlin said before he dialed Lancelot’s number. As he put the phone up to his ear and waited until Lancelot’s voice found its way into Merlin’s ear after a few tones.

“Hello?” The author sounded confused, probably because he was answering an odd number.

“Gawain? It’s Merlin.” Merlin felt like he should at least let the guy know who he was talking to.

“Oh! Merlin! Say hi to Merlin, Gawain.” Merlin heard the distant “Yo!” from Gawain.

“Hi. Lancelot, listen--” Merlin started.

“You sound stressed. Is everything okay?” The man seemed to panic after a moment. “Are Ritsuka and Mash alright?”

“They’re fine. I was just wondering, is Arthur with you by any chance?” Merlin asked.

“Arthur? No, it’s just me and Gawain right now, but he was about to head out.”

“Really? Where’s he going?” Merlin hoped that Lancelot would say he was going to meet up with Arthur.

“He’s going to see Mordred.”

No no no. That was the  _ opposite _ of what Merlin wanted to hear. It was like these people  _ wanted _ to get themselves involved.

“No.” Merlin stated immediately, a firm edge in his voice as he narrowed his eyes. Mordred could totally kill, hurt, or turn Gawain if he was going by himself. It didn’t matter how close the two were. “Gawain, you need to stay home.”

“Hm? Why?” Gawain asked curiously.

“Deputy Arash was just telling me that the police just issued a lockdown for tonight and tomorrow night. Nobody’s allowed out of their house.” Merlin answered as he looked out the window.

“Oh, then you’re worried about where Arthur is? I think he could be…” Merlin listened to Lancelot’s words as he saw Mr. Carter picking up Abby and Lavinia from the police station. Both of the girls looked a little solemn, but Lavinia spotted Merlin and stared at him for a few moments, like she was trying to decide something, before she waved. A sign of friendliness? Merlin was confused for a moment before he understood. Lavinia knew that he was a vampire, but she knew that he wasn’t a bad vampire since he saved Abby and was trying to keep both of them out of trouble. It was like she was saying thank you for keeping them safe. Merlin smiled and waved back before he looked ahead at the road in front of him as Arash pulled away from the police station. Even though this was probably the last time Merlin would talk to those two, and even though Lavinia was going to keep his secret hush...Merlin had a feeling he would see them again.

And it wasn’t a good feeling.

**dawn.**

“Arthur, take it easy. You need to calm down.”

Gilgamesh could tell you a quite a few reasons why he chose a vampire lover over a human lover, but if he had to choose three reasons from a long list...he would say because (1) humans aged too fast in comparison to vampires, who didn’t age, (2) humans were too fragile, physically and emotionally, compared to vampires, and (3) hypnosis didn’t affect vampires. That last reason may seem random, but Gilgamesh really believed that the fact that vampires were immune to another vampire’s hypnosis was important when it came to having a lover.

It also wouldn’t lead to a situation like this.

Arthur was trembling out of anger as he held his phone up to his mouth and listened to the heartbroken words of his lover, Bedivere. The two vampires were in the empty picnic area, making their way back to the office after a rather short conversation with Merlin, when Bedivere had called Arthur. Gil’s nest-mate was completely clueless about the fact that Bedivere was upset with him, and he was a little confused when he found that the human was calling him at such a late (or rather, early) time. Arthur had picked up the phone and put it on speaker cheerfully, understandably so since it’d been a pretty tense night and his significant other was bound to cheer him up, but Arthur’s mood was darkened again when Bedivere spoke the words that every person, vampire or not, dreaded hearing from their lover.

“We need to talk.”

Bedivere then proceeded to tell Arthur that he “just wasn’t the same anymore”. He’s been away from Bedivere for so long, and he postponed the same dinner the two had planned four times in a row. Gilgamesh immediately knew that Arthur didn’t tell Bedivere that he was a vampire, and he couldn’t help postponing the dinner because of the other nest and the attacks that kept hitting closer and closer to their own nest. When Arthur asked Bedivere why he was acting the way he was, Bedivere took a deep breath before he spoke quietly.

_ “Someone told me they saw you with a couple of college girls. They said the girls were flirting with you, and looked like you were enjoying yourself. They even said you flirted back.” _

_ “What?!” Arthur demanded. Gilgamesh already knew this wasn’t going to end well. Arthur was already extremely annoyed after the detective took Merlin away; and even though Merlin had reassured him everything was going to be fine, Arthur was still on edge. This whole situation was guaranteed to make him even angrier. Gilgamesh reached for his phone and moved to call Ozymandias, but the battery was dead. So you had a jealous boyfriend, a dead phone, a vampire with the temper of a raging bull, and a vampire that had no idea how to deal with someone with a bad temper. _

_ It was a recipe for disaster. _

_ “Arthur, take it easy.” Gilgamesh warned under his breath, his fangs lightly scraping his bottom lip. _

_ “They told me they saw you with their own two eyes.” Bedivere sounded like he was crying now, and Arthur grit his teeth. _

_ “Bedivere, I wouldn’t ditch you for a couple of college chicks.” He said. _

_ “Then why were you flirting with them?” _

_ “I wasn’t! I’d cut my tongue off before I flirted with someone that wasn’t you!” _

_ “That’s what I thought, but…” Bedivere started. “I don’t think what we have is genuine, Arthur.” Gilgamesh looked at the phone Arthur’s hand quietly as Arthur rubbed his dry eyes. “I think we should give each other space until we figure this all out.” Arthur looked at the ground tiredly before he spoke again. _

_ “At least tell me who told you.” Arthur said. “If you really believe what that person said was true, then tell me who it is so that I can find them and make them admit they’re wrong right in front of you.” Bedivere was silent on the other end. _

_ “The person that told me…?” The human sounded confused and distant, making Gilgamesh raise an eyebrow. “Of course your attention isn’t even on me after everything I just told you.” Bedivere sounded like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, which was odd because Arthur had old Gilgamesh that Bedivere thought Arthur was the most honest person the human had ever met. Actually, if the human was accusing Arthur of cheating, then he was implying that he was untrustworthy. _

_ So, technically, this whole  _ **_situation_ ** _ was odd. _

_ “What? Bedivere, what are you saying?” Arthur was really annoyed now, his fangs had dropped past his lips and his nails sharpened. _

_ “Hey, take it easy.” Gilgamesh said urgently, his voice barely a whisper. He felt like he was repeating himself, saying the same thing over and over. _

_ “I’m saying that I’m someone in your life too! I’m  _ **_the_ ** _ person in your life!” Bedivere sobbed on the other end. _

_ “Of course you are! It’s always been that way!” Arthur insisted. _

_ “Oh really? Tell that to those college girls you were with!” _

_ “Bedivere, what’s going on? You’ve never been like this! I’m trying to make this right!” _

_ “Forget it, Arthur. There’s no way you can make this right after what I heard.” Bedivere said bitterly, but the next thing the human said is what drove Arthur past the point of no return. _

_ “We’re done.” _

Of course, in order to understand why a human and a vampire are arguing, you have to understand that vampire emotions and human emotions aren’t the same. Referring back to reason number two on Gil’s list of reasons why he’ll never have a human lover, vampires were stronger than humans physically  _ and _ emotionally. Physical strength was self explanatory; vampires had heightened senses and were stronger than twenty body-builders. There was no hurting them unless you had silver, another vampire, a cross, or God’s name on your tongue.

It was emotional strength that got more complex.

For starters, vampires couldn’t cry no matter how sad they were. Ozymandias told the nest of the time he couldn’t even mourn the death of his brother and fiance when he was turned. Vampires couldn’t feel fear either. Ishtar admitted to being deathly afraid of snakes and spiders before she was turned, but when she spotted a spider crawling up her arm she didn’t even flinch. Gilgamesh’s personal favorite emotion (and his most felt, if he could add) was lust. To vampires, lust was the key to being able to be the primal creature they were without losing control. It was rough and full of bites, but there was no need to quench a thirst for blood. It was a way to let loose physically without letting loose mentally, and Gilgamesh loved it. However, if it was one emotion that induced reactions out of a vampire the most…

It was anger.

Thirst is such a broad term, in Gilgamesh’s opinion. He and the rest of his nest split it into two types. There was the “natural” thirst, which was just being hungry for blood, and then there was “triggered” thirst, which was caused because someone pissed them off. You see, vampires get angry and annoyed really easily, which triggers their thirst. It makes sense, if you think about it. If you annoyed a bee, what’s it going to do? It’s going to sting you. If you angered a bear, what’s it going to do? It’s going to attack you. If you pissed off a vampire, what’re they going to do?

They’re going to bite you and suck your blood.

That’s just the way it is. It’s just the nature of a vampire. However, some vampires, like Merlin, Ozymandias, and Ereshkigal, have become so tranquil and tolerant that you would have to strike a really deep nerve in order to upset them. Others--like Arthur, Gilgamesh, and Ishtar--had terrible tempers; all it took was one thing that didn’t go their way and the next thing you know they’re lashing out at you. Hence the reason why Merlin, Ozymandias, and Ereshkigal could go almost two weeks without blood while Arthur, Gilgamesh, and Ishtar could only last a few days before they lost control over themselves. However, ever since the day Gilgamesh survived the attack in his apartment by being turned into a vampire, he’s had a single question that’s never been answered…

...how does one handle an out-of-control vampire?

Gilgamesh always supposed he was never told how to deal with it because he was the one that was always out of control, and Merlin, Ozymandias, and Ereshkigal were the ones that had to bring him back down to earth, but they should’ve at least  _ told _ him what to do in case he wasn’t the one blowing his stack. Gilgamesh was regrettably aware of what it was like to be out of control because it had happened twice, but he couldn’t remember anything past the dreaded moments when the vampire that turned him had mixed their blood and when Gilgamesh had spotted Enkidu’s blood on their hand. Ozymandias said he took care of the situation two years ago, but he didn’t tell him  _ how _ . So Gilgamesh had no idea how he was supposed to calm down a vampire, especially one who was practically frothing at the mouth at this very moment. How did Gilgamesh know said vampire had completely lost their mind?

Simple: Arthur wasn’t taking it easy.

Gilgamesh didn’t exactly know the origins of the phrase, but Merlin had mentioned that it went way back to before the nest was formed. Since Merlin and Ozymandias knew each other before even Ereshkigal and Ishtar were turned, they had developed the phrase as a backup plan. With enough usage of the phrase, it became like nature to react appropriately to the three words. Maybe it was being said because there was a human that didn’t know around and freaking out would give their secret away, or it was being said because it wasn’t the time to fight or get angry. Whatever the reason, Gilgamesh and the rest of his nest had one rule that they all enforced with an iron fist: You heard the words “take it easy”, you stopped whatever the heck you were doing, gave the person saying the words your attention, and calmed the hell down.

But the magic phrase wasn’t working right now.

Maybe it was on break or something because Gil’s nest was using and abusing the phrase lately, but Gilgamesh thought that was bullshit. Why wasn’t the damn phrase working?

“A-Arthur? Hey, are you still there?” Bedivere asked, sounding a little worried, but the vampire was too far gone. Arthur’s breath was coming out in short and rough huffs, his face was bright red, and his whole body was quaking with what Gilgamesh could only assume was anger. Arthur dropped his phone like it was a burning coal before he gripped his head and made a pained noise, making Gilgamesh narrow his eyes.

“Hey! Take it easy!” He said again, but it was like the bartender couldn’t hear him. Arthur glared up at him with bloodshot eyes, and Gilgamesh clenched his jaw.

Oh shit.

Gilgamesh put his hands up defensively and picked up the phone on the ground, not daring to break eye contact with Arthur or else a fight would break out between them while a human was on the phone, before he held the device up to his mouth.

“Arthur’s going to have to call you back later. He’s not well.” Gilgamesh half truthed before he hung up on Bedivere without allowing the human to say anything. Gilgamesh listened intently as far as ears would let him, and he thankfully noted that there wasn’t anyone around to see or hear all of this. “Arthur, listen. Give him and yourself a chance to calm down, then you can talk again.” Arthur, being the stubborn bastard that he was, shook his head firmly. 

“No.” Arthur was becoming more and more hostile by the second, so Gilgamesh decided to keep the blonde distracted as he called the first person on the “recents” contact list, which he was slightly annoyed to see Ishtar’s name on the dialing screen.

“You need to calm down and take it easy, Arthur.” Gilgamesh repeated calmly. “We’re out in the open, we can be turned in with you as obvious evidence.” Arthur wasn’t taking the hint, so Gilgamesh hit the speaker button and braced himself.

The next thing he knew, Arthur was practically throwing himself at Gilgamesh.

The two vampires went toppling to the ground, growling and scratching at each other as they fought like animals. Gilgamesh shoved Arthur onto his back only for the crazed vampire to copy the movement, pinning him to the ground and scratching up Gilgamesh’s face in the process. Gil clicked his tongue, balling his fist and driving it right into Arthur’s nose, causing him to recoil and fall backwards as his newly broken nose gushed out blood. Gilgamesh felt triumphant for a few moments, but then Arthur fisted the front of his shirt and yanked Gilgamesh into his reach, the thin material tearing easily under the vampire’s strength as Arthur landed a punch to the side of his face. Gilgamesh tasted his own blood in his mouth as Arthur grabbed a fistful of his hair and shoved Gilgamesh’s face into the ground. Gilgamesh felt his brain rattle in his skull as the world around him spun, and a pained grunt fell past his lips. Gilgamesh had to give Merlin, Ozymandias, and Ereshkigal credit--what the hell, he’ll even give Ishtar credit--fighting an out of control vampire was  _ hard _ .

But there was familiarity in the whole situation.

What else was there to say? Gilgamesh and Arthur were both turned within a week of each other, so they had to go through the pain of the change together in the basement of Ereshkigal and Ishtar’s house. The second a person is turned, they’re an out of control vampire for a long time. Ishtar even told the two that when Gilgamesh and Arthur were first turned, they overwhelmed even Merlin and Ozymandias! And they were the strongest in the nest! The four vampires had no choice but to lock them in Ereshkigal’s basement with no food or contact with anyone just until they calmed down a bit, but that was like caging two starved lions. You’d better bet your ass Gilgamesh and Arthur fought for a week straight. To sum it up, this whole situation wasn’t new to Gilgamesh and Arthur at all. Gilgamesh and Arthur knew each other’s weaknesses in fighting because they’d fought like this before.

The only difference was that Gilgamesh now was sane, and Gilgamesh in the basement four years ago was definitely  _ not _ .

However, Gilgamesh would rather fight ten of out of control vampires than admit any of that out loud. What he  _ could _ admit, however, was the relief he felt when he heard the annoying fashionista’s voice over the phone.

“Arthur?! Where are you right now? Merlin just got back from turning the whole city upside down for you! You’re on speaker so you’d better explain yourself because we’re all  _ pissed _ !” She scolded. Arthur’s head shot up at the mention of his name and he growled before he bolted for the phone in the grass, but Gilgamesh was faster. He tackled Arthur to the ground and pinned his arms behind his back.

“Never mind that!” He yelled. “Arthur’s lost it, what do I do?”

“He  _ what _ ?!” Ereshkigal exclaimed.

“What happened?” Merlin asked, an alarmed tone in his voice. “He was fine when we talked!”

“There’s no time to explain! Just answer the fucking question!” Gilgamesh kept Arthur’s hands behind his back with all the strength he could muster, but Arthur was slowly breaking free.

“Bite him!” Ozymandias said urgently. “Bite him, Gilgamesh!”

Oh right! A vampire biting another vampire had to do something. If there was a fight between two vampires, there had to be a way for one to weaken the other or else the fight would be tied the whole time. Gilgamesh almost thought the banker was joking, but it made sense. There was also too much at stake. Like this, Arthur could storm right into the city and maim the every living thing he saw until his thirst was completely satiated. So Gilgamesh steeled his resolve, opened his mouth, leaned forward, and bit harshly into Arthur’s neck, the terrible taste of another vampire’s blood filling his mouth as Arthur froze. As the both of them sat there, bloody, dirty, breathless, and drenched in sweat, Gilgamesh hoped that this would work or else he and Ozymandias were going to have a problem. Speaking of Ozymandias, the phone had gone awfully quiet hadn’t it? Gilgamesh reached up to grab Arthur’s phone to see that its battery had died too. Just peachy. After a few moments of clinging onto the other’s neck with his teeth and being forced to taste the terrible blood, Arthur relaxed with a drawn out groan. Gilgamesh released Arthur’s neck and began to pull away, blood dripping from his chin. Arthur sat up and felt his broken nose before he blinked in surprise, suddenly realizing what just happened. Gilgamesh wiped his mouth with the back of his hand in disgust as Arthur looked at him guiltily.

“Gilgamesh. I’m sorry. I just--” He started.

“I know. Forget about it.” Gilgamesh didn’t need to hear it, since he had done the same exact thing when he went crazy two years ago. He looked down at his half torn shirt with a frown as silence fell over the two. Gilgamesh moved to stand up but Arthur grabbed his wrist, making him narrow his eyes. Arthur looked up at the blonde with eyes full of heartbreak, and he relaxed his stern expression. Gilgamesh knew that if Arthur was human…

He would be crying.

“Don’t leave…” The words were unbelievably quiet, and Gilgamesh shut his eyes in understanding. This was the part where he had to do his job as the nest member that just witnessed him break up with his boyfriend, who’d he’d truly loved and been with for three years, before he got a taste of what it was like to lose control over his very soul and being. This was a wound that was going to take a  _ long _ time to heal. Gilgamesh nodded before he opened his eyes and looked at Arthur with a clear goal of helping him forget about it. Then, he pointed at his tattered shirt with a teasing smile.

“Ruining my shirt once was an honest mistake, Arthur, but twice isn’t something I’ll forgive.”


	23. Thursday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was brought to you (really late, frankly) by “my hand slipped"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s a really quick rape and pseudoincest mention in Ereshkigal’s flashback but it’s like “if you blink you’ll miss it”  
> Seriously, it’s not described or explained in detail I’m just givin y’all a heads up  
> Also heads up, Mash goes absolutely insane

**morning.**

Ereshkigal was always told she was too nice for her own good.

She’d been that way ever since she was little. If she saw someone she didn’t know being picked on, she would stand up for them. If she saw a butterfly stuck in a spiderweb, she would free it. Ereshkigal truly had a heart of gold, which is why she became a nurse. She can’t stand seeing people in pain, so she did everything she could to make them feel better, physically and emotionally.

But Ereshkigal’s kindness was also a weakness.

Her kindness caused her to be taken advantage of, so she was scammed often. Her kindness made her sensitive to other emotions, so it was easy for people to hurt her feelings. Her kindness caused her to be naive, so she couldn’t see her father’s terrible intentions back when she was human. Her kindness caused her to turn her sister because she didn’t want to leave Ishtar with their abusive father. She could remember that day vividly, and Ereshkigal knew she wouldn’t ever forget it for as long as she lived.

_She was huddled in the corner of her father’s empty room, naked, alone, broken, and hurt. The huge gash on her shoulder was slowly healing because of the blood her father put into her, but it was still bleeding steadily. She’d been sitting like this for a couple of days now, so she wasn’t as crazy and frenzied, but she wasn’t able to move because of the amount of pain she was in. Her bloodied mouth was in incredible pain, and her hands cramped terribly. She felt like she had the worst toothache and the worst case of carpal tunnel to ever exist as sharp canine fangs and claws forced themselves out of her gums and fingertips. Her vision was blurred and her eyes throbbed, so much so that even the dim light of the lamp on the nightstand hurt her eyes. Her ears were ringing loudly, like someone was screaming in her ear, and she felt so..._ **_thirsty_ ** _. Not for water...but for something thicker, more metallic. She craved blood, and she craved it badly. She couldn’t see twenty year old Ishtar standing by the door and watching Ereshkigal as she pulled her knees into her chest and pressed her palms to her ears forcefully._

_“Ereshkigal...?” The worried tone of her sister made it’s way past Ereshkigal’s hands and into her ears, making her flinch. All Ereshkigal could hear was her twin’s heartbeat that circulated rich, sweet blood through her body._

_Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump…_

_Ereshkigal squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at her sister because she was sure she would attack her twin if she did._

_“Ereshkigal, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you wearing anything?” Ishtar asked again, beginning to walk towards her._

_“No! Don’t come close!” Ereshkigal scooted herself closer to the wall._

_“What? Why?” Ishtar asked, alarmed._

_“I don’t--” Ereshkigal started before a fresh wave of thirst hit her, and she gripped her head tightly. “I--”_

_“Ereshkigal, what’s wrong?” Ishtar was crying now. “What happened?” Ereshkigal’s heart hurt at seeing tears being shed for her. “Where’s dad?” Ereshkigal felt anger shoot up within her at the mention of that man, and her thirst became more intense._

_“He’s gone.”_

_“Wha…?” Ishtar sounded confused, and that was understandable, but Ereshkigal’s eyes still burned with tears of frustration._

_“He hit me...and he...r-raped me…” Ishtar covered her mouth in shock. “Then he made me this way...and ran…”_

_“When?” Ishtar asked. “When did it happen? I swear if I see him--”_

_“Two days ago.” Ereshkigal croaked. “He’s gone...but he said he was coming back...” Ishtar looked furious, at herself for not helping her sister and at her dad for doing those things to Ereshkigal._

_“Ereshkigal, listen--” She took two steps closer to Ereshkigal, but Ereskigal pressed herself even more against the wall._

_“Don’t come closer!” She yelled again before she looked up at Ishtar coldly, her breath coming out uneven. “I don’t want to hurt you!” Ishtar looked at her sister for a few moments, like she was trying to decide something before she took a deep breath and began to walk towards Ereshkigal, making the blonde’s eyes widen._

_“It’s okay…” Ishtar said quietly. Ereshkigal was already cornered, so the closer Ishtar walked towards Ereshkigal, the more danger she put herself in._

_“No! Ishtar! Stay away! Stay away from me!” Ereshkigal shouted and yelled until her voice was hoarse. She didn’t want to hurt her sister, but the brunette just kept walking closer. Ishtar knelt down in front of her twin and gently placed her hand over her knee. Ereshkigal flinched and tried to move away, but there was nowhere to go. Her thirst was begging her to drink blood, and Ishtar was the only source of the liquid._

_Ereshkigal was going to kill her twin sister without meaning or wanting to._

_She broke down, frantic sobs slipping out of her mouth and her eyes burning painfully with tears that couldn’t fall as Ereshkigal struggled to hold onto the last fibers of her consciousness. She fought to take in oxygen, but it didn’t feel like her lungs were filling._

_“Ishtar, get away from me...I’m going to hurt you...stay away...” She begged, but Ishtar didn’t move._

_“Ereshkigal, look at me. It’s okay...look at me.” Ereshkigal shook her head firmly. “Don’t worry, just look at me. It’ll be just like you’re looking at yourself. You can’t hurt yourself, right?”_

_“N-no...I’m a monster…” Ereshkigal whimpered. Ishtar was silent for a few seconds before she spoke._

_“Then make me into a monster too.”_

_The statement was short and simple to understand. That’s how Ishtar usually asked for things that she wanted. She didn’t sugarcoat any of it, and she made it quick and easy._

_“What…?” Ereshkigal asked, her eyes widening._

_“We’re twins. If you’re a monster, then I have to be one too.” Ishtar repeated. “You have no one else to trust. Mom won’t help you, right?”_

_“I’ll run away.”_

_“And you’ll leave me with dad?” Ishtar said, raising an eyebrow._

_“No, no...I’ll stay.”_

_“Dad will keep hurting us.”_

_“I’ll do something.”_

_“Ereshkigal, forget about this place. Let’s_ **_both_ ** _run away. Make me like you and let’s run away together, Ereshkigal.”_

_“Ishtar, you--” Ereshkigal started._

_“Please...I don’t want to leave you like this by yourself.” Tears slid down her sister’s face again, and Ereshkigal felt as though someone had grabbed her heart and squeezed it. “If you truly love me as your sister...if you truly_ **_truly_ ** _love me...then please…” Ereshkigal looked at Ishtar before she gently took her wrist into her hand. Using one of her sharp claws, Ereshkigal made a light cut in a safe spot away from her vital points. Ishtar winced, but didn’t protest, as she covered the cut so that Ereshkigal didn’t see any blood before the twins looked at each other one more time for confirmation._

_Then they both took a deep breath before Ereshkigal placed Ishtar’s cut over the cut on her shoulder._

It was a horrible day, but that was when Ishtar and Ereshkigal really established their bonds as sisters. There hasn’t been a day that Ishtar didn’t look out for Ereshkigal and vice versa. It had even become a habit for Ereshkigal to look out for the boys too. It’s not like Ereshkigal could help it, she couldn’t just leave those four to keep getting themselves hurt. Without Ereshkigal they would’ve died ages ago! Apparently Ishtar and the boys picked up on that fact too since they always found a way to thank her for it. Yeah, maybe Gilgamesh and Ozymandias were a little discreet in thanking her, but Ishtar, Arthur, and Merlin were nice about it.

But at least they actually thanked her. 

Even though there were nice humans here and there like Ritsuka and Nightingale, Ishtar and the others in the nest were the only ones who _knew_ how to repay her kindness. Ishtar saw Ereshkigal’s kindness and mirrored it by not wanting her to suffer alone. The other four in the nest returned Ereshkigal’s kindness by protecting her when she couldn’t protect herself.

Not a single soul reciprocated her kindness the way her nest did.

Every one in...say...sixty vampire nests is a nest that isn’t “rank based”, or a nest with the oldest vampire leading the pack and the younger ones following their strict rules and orders. Those rare nests were like a really close-knit group of friends--or family, if they were all related biologically. They really helped each other out in their worst moments, told each other their closest secrets, and kept each other safe and under control so that they weren’t found out. Vampires in those kinds of nests turned to their nest because they didn’t have any family to turn to. Typically, vampires outlived their family, the way Merlin did and they way Arthur would eventually, turned their family, the way Ereshkigal did to Ishtar, ate their family, the way Ozymandias told the nest he was forced to, or their family was killed, the way Gilgamesh’s family was. Ereshkigal and her nest members kept each other safe because they were all they had. So they were all really protective of each other.

Especially the guys.

The best way to explain the boys’ behavior was that Merlin, Arthur, Gilgamesh, and Ozymandias were like those older brother figures you see on reality TV shows. You know, the ones who were strong and they always protected the little sisters even though they weren’t actually related? That’s what Ereshkigal thought those four were like. Really! Let her tell you the stories! If she could remember one story, she would remember it this way...

Once upon a time, back when Gilgamesh and Arthur were around a year old in vampire years, Ereshkigal dated a human man.

This man seemed so kind, he told Ereshkigal that he loved her and he bought her the prettiest things. He took her to the most beautiful parts of the city and made her live the best days of her life. Every time she would come back from a date, she would tell the nest what happened eagerly, and they would listen. Ereshkigal truly believed she had found happiness with this man…but she was wrong. The second he laid eyes on Ishtar, all of his feelings for Ereshkigal disappeared. Of course, Ereshkigal wasn’t mad at Ishtar for that at all. They were twins! They had the same face! What had _really_ hurt was that this man didn’t tell Ereshkigal that his feelings for her were gone, and he kept dating her and asking her for money and things until she couldn’t give anymore. Once the man was satisfied, he dumped Ereshkigal in the rain without an umbrella and told her the truth about all of it. So when poor Ereshkigal returned to the doctor’s office completely heartbroken and soaking wet, she collapsed into Ishtar’s arms and hugged her sister like her life depended on it, her eyes burning with tears she could never cry.

That didn’t sit too well with Arthur, Merlin, Gilgamesh, and Ozymandias.

The next day, Gilgamesh and Arthur dragged the man into the doctor’s office by the collar, cursing at him and shoving him this way and that. Ereshkigal, not expecting them to be that mad, stood up sharply from her place at the front desk and told them to at least be more gentle. The poor guy looked like he was going to soil himself! Merlin and Ozymandias simply stood up from where they were sitting in the waiting room, smiled at him without any good intention, and told him that he’d better give back everything he took from Ereshkigal if he knew what was good for him. Soon enough, all the money and things that the man had taken from her were dropped off in a neat and tidy box in front of the doctor’s office.

Ereshkigal never saw the man again after that.

Of course, Ereshkigal looks back at the whole situation and laughs, but she was grateful that Ishtar and those four looked out for her clumsy and sensitive self the way they did or else she would’ve died ages ago. There was one thing Ereshkigal couldn’t understand, though. If you asked the nest who looked out for them the most, they would say Ereshkigal in a heartbeat. She would freak out and worry if a single _hair_ was out of place on any one of their heads. So, as ironic as it was, they were the ones that called _her_ the older sibling. They would tell you that even though Ereskigal couldn’t fight others for their sake, she could protect them like an older sister.

So it wasn’t a surprise when Ereshkigal almost fainted out of relief after Gilgamesh and Arthur waltzed into the doctor’s office.

They were dirty and bloody, and their clothes were in tatters. They had scratches that were steadily oozing out blood all over their face and chest. Arthur’s neck was bleeding too, from an injury that looked like the bite Gilgamesh inflicted in order to calm him down. Ereshkigal could see from where she was sitting that Arthur had a broken nose and Gilgamesh had a bloodied lip, so she grabbed a couple of towels as she jumped to her feet and rushed up to the two blondes, her eyes burning with vampire tears of relief. Ereskigal’s heart ached when she saw her own nest mates injured. It was something she couldn’t help.

“Oh my goodness, you’re back! What were you two thinking, running off like that?! You almost gave me a heart attack!” She gently pressed one towel to Gilgamesh’s lip and the other to Arthur’s nose despite the fact that she was upset with the both of them. Their hands replaced hers as they held the towels to their injuries and looked at her apologetically. Ereshkigal picked the dirt out of Gilgmesh’s hair and off of Arthur’s shoulders and chest with a worried look.

“Sorry, I messed up.” Arthur stated.

“Never mind ‘messing up’! You look like you jumped in front of a bus! You were out in the open where anyone could see you!”

“Nobody saw though.” Gilgamesh said. Ereshkigal grit her teeth.

“But they could’ve! You idiot! If I almost fainted when the detective took Merlin away, what would happen to me if they took you in too?” She insisted, banging her fists weakly against his chest before she couldn’t go on. Ereshkigal panted out tired breaths as she looked up at them with a heartbroken look. “You can’t just leave without telling anyone like that…” Gilgamesh simply looked down at her as Arthur reached over, patted her head, and carded his fingers gently through her hair.

“We’re sorry we made you worry. We should’ve at least called you, but everything turned out okay in the end.” Ereskigal picked up the half truth in an instant. Things may have ended up okay, but it definitely wasn’t _all_ okay. Ereshkigal looked up and over at him with narrowed eyes, but didn’t pry. She grabbed them both by the wrist and hurried them to one of the back rooms before she took out the disinfectant, gauzes, and bandage wrap as Ishtar, Merlin, and Ozymandias walked into the room. Nightingale and Enkidu were with Kingu and Roman was back sleeping in his apartment after he let Mash and Ritsuka go back to school, so they would be able to speak without worrying.

“So they _are_ back. I thought I heard Ereshkigal practically collapsing out of worry.” Her sister said as Merlin closed the door. Ereshkigal reached up on her tip toes and quickly disinfected and covered up the injury on Arthur’s neck before she started the same procedure on all the cuts on Gilgamesh’s face and chest, since they were more severe than Arthur’s.

“Very funny.” Gilgamesh stated before Arthur sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“Look, we don’t even need to talk about this--” He started.

“Yes we do.” Ozymandias cut him off. “Why don’t you start by explaining yourself? You were out in the open and you went crazy.”

“There was nothing I could do!” Arthur argued. “I was already mad and worried about Merlin, then something else came up on the phone, then you know what happens next!”

“I told you I was fine though. There was nothing to worry about.” Merlin said, frowning. “If you both went back to the office like I told you to, then you would’ve had to wait fifteen minutes before I called Ozymandias and told him I wasn’t a suspect anymore.”

“We _were_ on our way back.” Gilgamesh said, narrowing his eyes. “Arthur just got a phone call that hit too many nerves.” Ereshkigal was concerned about that. Nobody from the office could have called him, and Merlin couldn’t have called him. Was it Lancelot, Gawain, or Tristan? Or an anonymous call like the one Ritsuka got?

“Oh wow, that’s great. Why didn’t--” Ishtar started before Ereshkigal put a hand up and stopped her.

“Hang on, Ishtar.” She looked up at the two worriedly, taking a more gentle approach instead of forcing answers out of them. “You didn’t run off anywhere else? You were doing exactly what Merlin said?” The two nodded before she looked at Arthur. “You got a phone call while you and Gilgamesh were walking back?”

“Y...Yeah.” Arthur confirmed before he let out a deep and tired sigh. Ereshkigal suddenly saw how _exhausted_ he was. Of course...if he had lost control and got into a fight with Gilgamesh, then he was going to use up a lot of energy. He probably didn’t even eat until now either, so his thirst must be killing him at this point. Ereshkigal and the others were too busy trying to grill on the countless mistakes that Gilgamesh and Arthur made but they couldn’t see that he _really_ couldn’t help himself. Ereshkigal hadn’t even noticed the bags under his eyes and his slower than normal movements in the heat of her worry. What really grabbed Ereshkigal’s attention, though, was Arthur’s eyes. The usually bright and cheerful green irises were dimmed and full of sadness. They were red too, and Ereshkigal knew too well that it was because they were burning with tears he couldn’t shed. Ereshkigal’s expression softened as it all clicked. If it wasn’t anyone from their nest or the enemy nest, and it wasn’t Tristan, Lancelot, or Gawain…

Then it only could’ve been one other person.

He and Gilgamesh probably weren’t explaining the whole story because they didn’t want her to be worried more than she was. Ereshkigal reached for Arthur with both of her hands before she pulled him into a comforting hug. He tried to move away, but Ereshkigal kept hugging him.

“Your shirt’s getting all bloody.” Arthur said flatly, but Ereshkigal wasn’t focused on that right now.

“I’m sorry, Arthur.” She apologized. Arthur froze, but he didn’t say anything. “I should’ve noticed it sooner...I’m sorry...” The blonde was tense for a few more moments before he slowly rested both arms around her and hugged her back, letting out a shaky breath as if he was crying.

“I don’t understand what I did wrong…” Arthur said quietly. “He’s never accused me like that before.”

“Shh, I know.” Ereshkigal murmured. “We’ll find out what happened.” Arthur didn’t say anything, he simply hugged Ereshkigal until he felt like he was ready to talk again.

“I want to solve this problem first. Let’s--” He started.

“Wait!” Ereshkigal turned, opened a small and somewhat hidden cabinet, and pulled out a blood pack before she turned and handed it to Arthur with a fond smile. “Here.” Arthur accepted the blood pack with a thankful smile. “Okay, now talk.”

“To sum it all up: he accused him of cheating then cut it off.” Gilgamesh said. “It pissed him off enough to lose it.” Arthur nodded as he bit into the blood pack and let Ereshkigal work on healing his wounds again. Ishtar quirked an eyebrow.

“Hm? I thought you mentioned that Bedivere thinks you’re the most honest and loyal person he’s ever met.”

“That’s what confused me. Bedivere’s never jealous or mad at me because he knows I won’t do anything to make him feel that way.” Arthur explained before continuing to drink the red fluid from the pouch. Ereshkigal paused her work for a quick moment before she glanced over at Ozymandias and Merlin, who looked like they had the same thought. Bedivere was brainwashed and now they needed to tell Arthur, who had just lost control not even two hours ago. This was going to be tough.

“Arthur, I’m just going to say it.” Ozymandias pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed.

“Don’t you dare, he’s already had a rough morning.” Ereshkigal said sternly.

“Say what?” Arthur asked, looking between the two before looking at Ishtar, who put her hands up as if to say “don’t look at me”.

“He needs to know though, and that gives us our chance to fire a warning shot.” Merlin said.

“But it’s only been two hours...he can’t start up again!” Ereshkigal insisted.

“What?” Arthur asked again.

“Bedivere’s been brainwashed, Arthur. Someone from the other nest got to him.”

Merlin, Ozymandias, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal’s heads snapped to Gilgamesh so fast, Ereshkigal was sure they all got whiplash. The man really didn’t have a sense of urgency, huh?

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” Ishtar demanded.

“Telling him the truth.” Gilgamesh answered flatly. “They made Bedivere think you were cheating on him and they made it so that he couldn’t tell you he saw them.” Arthur froze for a moment, and a sudden silence fell over the room. Ereshkigal could hear the conversation going on between Enkidu, Kingu, and Nightingale in the other rooms. She could hear the quiet whir of the mini fridge by the front desk. She could even hear a conversation going on in the bookstore across the street about a new bestselling author. Merlin stood cautiously before Arthur let out a slow and steady breath.

“Okay.”

_That_ definitely wasn’t a good sign.

“Take it easy, Arthur.” Merlin sighed, seeing Arthur’s reaction coming. Arthur looked at him. “You don’t know for sure that it’s him.” Ereshkigal instantly knew that Merlin was referring to Mordred, the vampire that had picked on Nightingale.

“Yeah I do.” Arthur said darkly. “All the other people from his nest would’ve attacked Bedivere the way they attacked Kingu. He’s the only one who’s done something like that so far.” Merlin shook his head.

“Mash doesn’t remember anything about when she was attacked because the woman who attacked her brainwashed her. It could’ve been her.”

“Doesn’t make a difference. I saw her, so I know what she looks like.” Arthur’s voice was dangerously quiet, and his tight grip on the blood pack caused it to explode. Ereshkigal flinched as blood splattered all over her face and Arthur’s chest, making Isthar pull her away from him. This wasn’t good at all. At this rate, Arthur was going to lose it all over again. Ereshkigal couldn’t bring herself to force anyone to do anything, so she looked over to Ozymandias and Merlin. They were the only two who could do _it_ and do it right.

“Hey...” She started. Ozymandias moved away from the wall with a heaving sigh.

“I’ll do it.” He muttered as he walked towards Arthur. “I really don’t want to do this, but you just haven’t been yourself lately, have you?” Arthur looked like he couldn’t hear him, and Ozymandias narrowed his eyes. Ereshkigal moved to cover Ishtar’s ears as she braced herself. Ozymandias let his fangs drop before he glowered at Arthur and spoke.

_“Arthur. Cool it.”_

Ozymandias’s tone was so unbelievably firm, you wouldn’t even believe he was the one talking if you walked by the room. His voice had a strict edge and carried such a heavy and dominant tone...Ereshkigal felt as though someone had struck her across the face. She cringed a little as Merlin shut his eyes and waited. Ereshkigal even found herself wanting to oblige even though she was already calm. Arthur clenched his jaw and forced himself to take steadying breaths before he completely calmed down.

“Better?” Ozymandias asked, his menacing look changing back into his concerned one. Arthur looked at him in bewilderment before he nodded.

“Y-yeah.” He answered as Ereshkigal pulled her hands away from her sister’s ears and accepted the paper towel Gilgamesh offered in order to wipe her face.

“What was that for? What just happened?” Ishtar asked, looking at Ereshkigal, who simply shook her head as she thought to herself.

Forced submission, Ishtar, that’s what happened.

Vampires can’t be brainwashed because they aren’t prone to suggestion like humans are. They’re basically human looking animals. But! What are animals prone to? Submission. It doesn’t matter how young or old a vampire was, but if they take on a dominant and threatening enough tone with another vampire, the other vampire will submit.

Easy enough, right?

Wrong. Ereshkigal and her nest rarely forced each other (on purpose) because they weren’t about “dominance” and “grrr tense vampires that followed an alpha” and stuff like that. They were all equal and they were all friends, so there was no need to force each other to do anything, especially when they already had their magic phrase “take it easy”. The nest didn’t use forced submission unless it was _absolutely_ necessary.

And it seemed pretty necessary now considering how Arthur was behaving.

It was simple. In the very rare case that “take it easy” didn’t work, forced submission was next in line if Merlin or Ozymandias were there. Merlin and Ozymandias were...experienced, for lack of a better word...so they knew just what kind of tone to take in order to make it work. Merlin never--sorry, _rarely_ \--forced the ones in the nest because he said it was too “out of character” and “he was just a weak florist”, but Ereshkigal told him that was silly and he should do it if the situation looked bad anyway.

That was just for their nest though.

Merlin wouldn’t hesitate to force another vampire outside the nest, no matter how “out of character” it made him. Ozymandias was the same way. He always felt bad after he forced someone within the nest, but if it was a vampire outside the nest he could force them without a single drop of guilt. Ereshkigal found the contrast funny. However, Merlin and Ozymandias couldn’t be forced into submission--unless they were forcing each other--since they were just way more resilient mentally. Ereshkigal was good mentally too, she was just way too nice to ever force anyone, regardless of whose nest the vampire belonged to. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything like that, so she can’t develop that kind of tone. So here’s the conclusion. Forced submission in Ereshkigal’s nest means Ozymandias and Merlin could force each other _and_ the rest of the nest (Arthur, Gilgamesh, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal) in order to calm down, but Ereshkigal, Ishtar, Gilgamesh, and Arthur couldn’t force Merlin and Ozymandias. It _also_ means if Ozymandias or Merlin lost control and Arthur, Gilgamesh, Ishtar, or Ereshkigal were the only ones around to deal with it…

They were _screwed_.

It’s better not to explain too much what would happen if those two _did_ lose it, but it explains why Ozymandias and Merlin made sure that their thirst was always at a tolerable level and why they made sure they couldn’t get pissed off easily. They did it because if they _did_ go berserk there would be _zero_ chance of bringing them back down to earth. Merlin let out a soft whistle before he looked at Ozymandias with a cheeky grin.

“That tone wasn’t enough to get to me.” He said, making the banker grimace.

“Shut it. I wasn’t making it enough to get to you.” The banker paused before he muttered a quick apology to Arthur. Ereshkigal looked at Ozymandias worriedly. He really didn’t want to force Arthur, it’s just that the situation was bad enough that he needed to. Ozymandias didn’t really show it, but to Ereshkigal it was obvious that he _loathed_ being a vampire. The only reason Ereshkigal knew was because she felt the same way. It truly was a terrible lifestyle. A _curse_.

“It’s fine...I honestly needed that. I feel better.” Arthur said before he guiltily buried his face into his hands. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ve just been so out of it these past few days. I feel like I was turned yesterday.”

“You’re definitely acting like it.” Gilgamesh said bitterly.

“You aren’t helping.” Ereshkigal said sternly before she looked at Arthur with a kind look. “We’re going to solve this problem, Arthur, we promise. The question now is _how_.”

“Force isn’t going to work just yet.” Ozymandias said, crossing his arms. “Doing that will make us too hasty.”

“Yep. We need to test the water or else we’re going to end up jumping into a pool full of angry sharks.” Merlin thought aloud.

“But we can’t just sit around and do nothing either.” Gilgamesh stated flatly. The nest thought for a second before Ereshkigal had an idea.

“What if we kidnapped one of them?” She suggested.

“Good idea. It isn’t hostile, but it isn’t passive either. It’ll be like how Nightingale was with Mordred.” Arthur added. Ozymandias nodded before he looked around at everyone seriously, and Ereshkigal knew that everyone else mirrored his look. It was time to confront this nest for _real_.

“It’s settled. The first one we see is the first one we snatch.”

**afternoon.**

“Oh my god, there she is!”

As Mash opened her locker, she was swarmed by a whole group of people who looked like they really weren’t going to make her first day back after nearly being killed easy. She felt like some sort of celebrity, but she was pretty sure celebrities didn’t get attacked and almost killed while trying to invite someone to a birthday party. Everyone pushed and shoved at each other so that they could ask Mash more questions than the detectives did. 

“Are you okay?!”

“Did they torture you?”

“What did the killer look like?”

“How are you still alive?!”

Mash looked around at her various classmates with an unsure look. She really didn’t want to talk about that night she was attacked, not because it was a sensitive topic, but because she couldn’t remember half of it. She was shoved to the ground and forced to look into that woman’s eyes before she was told to forget it all. Weirdly enough, she didn’t remember anything. Arthur didn’t see it all either, so there really wasn’t a way for her to really know what happened. The only proof she had of the whole situation happening were the scars on her stomach and the cast on her arm. Mash decided just to see it as another accident that she would come to forget completely as the years went by, but apparently her classmates weren’t going to let her do that.

“Mash, you have to tell us what happened.” A boy to her right said, making her look at him. “You were all over the newspaper!”

“U-Ummm…”

“How did you break your arm?” A girl to her left asked. Mash thought of how to answer the question, but the more she tried to remember, the more her memory clouded as the words of the woman echoed in her head.

_“Forget this happened...forget this happened...forget this happened...”_

“Well…it’s--” Mash started.

“Did they tell you not to tell anyone because if you told us they’d attack you again?”

“What? No! I just--”

“Then what?” A classmate asked.

“Hans C. Anderson wrote that you barely survived and you crawled away from the scene alone!” Another chimed.

“No no! I was saved by my dad’s friend!” Mash exclaimed.

“He wrote that it was an animal and a person at the same time too! Did you see the person’s face?” Mash tried to remember, but again...the woman’s voice echoed in her head and clogged her memory.

_“Forget this happened…”_

“I don’t really remember…” Mash confessed under her breath, but none of her classmates heard. They pressed and pried, but Mash couldn’t say anything.

“Hey, back up.” A familiar voice said. Mash couldn’t be more glad to see Ritsuka pushing his way through the crowd so that he could walk up to her. She beamed at him kindly before she greeted him.

“Good morning, Senpai.”

“It’s a morning, but I’m not so sure if it’s good.” Ritsuka joked before he looked at the crowd of classmates and frowned. He looked back at Mash, helped her carry her things, and smiled at her. “Let’s go. We’re going to be late.” Mash nodded gratefully and accompanied him as they pushed their way out of the crowd and made their way to their English class. Once they were far enough away from the group, Ritsuka spoke. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t think so many people would have questions about what happened.” Mash sighed. “Some of those questions even I can’t answer.”

“I know, but you don’t have to answer all those questions if you don’t want to.” Ritsuka said. “They really don’t need to know.”

“But I feel bad...they should probably know what’s out there attacking people.” She felt guilty that she couldn’t even warn her peers about what the killer looked like. Ritsuka was quiet, and he cast his gaze off to the side guiltily.

“I don’t think they should know. They’re better off not knowing.” Mash was confused at that. He didn’t know what attacked the city, so why did he feel that way? If anything, he would feel the same way. He would want all of his classmates to be safe.

“Senpai…?” She asked worriedly, making Ritsuka blink in surprise before he laughed nervously.

“Ahaha...don’t worry about it.” Mash looked at him for a few seconds more before she decided not to dwell on the topic any longer.

“Gawain and dad were thinking about doing a little ‘welcome home’ party, but I told them we really didn’t need to.” She said.

“It would be nice, but we just need to be careful when we’re inviting other people.” Ritsuka said wryly.

“Yeah, I told him the same thing.” Mash agreed. “If they really want to throw a party then they--'' Mash stopped dead in her tracks. There was a woman standing in the middle of the hallway about ten meters away from them. She was a petite woman with short, dark purple hair and extremely pale skin. Mash almost assumed the woman was sickly because of how pale she was. Mash knew the woman wasn’t a teacher or an administrator because she didn’t recognize her, but...Mash felt like she’d seen the woman before. Seeing the woman made her feel small and vulnerable, like the woman could turn around, close the distance between them, and crush her. Mash felt like someone had taken a huge boulder and placed it onto her chest, and she knew what she was feeling immediately.

_Fear._

“Mash? Are you okay?’ Ritsuka asked.

“Senpai, do you know her?” She pointed at the woman, who seemed to be looking at the trophies in the display case near the stairs.

“Know who?” Ritsuka looked baffled, and he craned his neck to see who she was talking about. “Who are you pointing to?”

“Her, the woman with the short hair.” Mash said.

“There’s nobody there, Mash.”

Mash looked at him in disbelief, hoping that he was just messing with her, but Ritsuka was looking back at her with a confused and worried look.

“What do you mean? She’s right…” She started, but when she looked back at where the woman was...Mash saw that she was gone. “There…? Where’d she go?”

“Maybe she was just here to talk to the principal.” Ritsuka laughed it off like it wasn’t important. “Come on.” The two walked into their English classroom as Mash rubbed her eyes. When she moved her hands away from her face, she spotted the same woman sitting at her desk and looking out the window quietly. What? Wasn’t that woman near the stairs just a moment ago?! The woman was so close! Close enough to...close enough to what? She didn’t even know the woman, but Mash knew that the woman could--

_“Forget this happened…”_

Mash felt cold all over, like no amounts of blankets could warm her up. She wanted to go home. Mash didn’t want to be somewhere a strange woman was.

“Mash? What’s wrong?” Ritsuka asked worriedly. She looked at him for a quick moment before she looked back at her desk, but the woman was gone. She noticed that everyone was staring at her too, and she felt a mortified blush spread onto her face.

“N-nothing.” She replied as the bell rang. “Thank you for carrying my things.” Mash took her stuff from Ritsuka and sat down as the teacher walked into the room.

“Good morning. We’ll start by taking a look at the textbook, if you can open those up…” Mash followed the teachers instructions with a sigh. What’s going on? Why was Mash seeing this woman? Why did she feel so scared when she saw her? The teacher began speaking again, but when Mash looked up she saw the woman instead of the teacher. Mash gasped quietly, feeling herself break out in a cold sweat. Mash heard her heartbeat in her ears, and she was shaking all over.

_“Mash…”_

The woman’s voice was lulling and soft...and it had a sly edge to it. It was echoing in her ears and thundering in her skull, giving her an unbearable migraine. Mash squeezed her eyes shut and hugged herself tightly. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to go back to the doctor’s office where she was safe with Doctor Roman, Ereshkigal, and Nightingale.

“Mash!”

Mash’s head snapped up at the worried tone of her teacher, who had pity written all over his face. Mash’s teacher was just like everyone else; either he felt bad for Mash, or he just wanted to get information out of her. They didn’t want to help her at all.

“Are you alright?” He asked, his words gentle. Mash felt the pressuring stare of all of her classmates on her before she stood sharply.

“I feel sick. May I go to the nurse?” It was more of a desperate plea than a simple and quick question.

“Do you want someone to walk you down?” Mash shook her head vigorously.

“No, no. I’ll go.” With that, she hurried out of the classroom before she headed to the bathroom. Mash always felt safe and secure while she was at school, but now Mash felt as though she was being watched--no, _followed_ \--down the hallways. She glanced behind her as she upped her pace, and she saw the woman standing at the end of the hallway, silently staring at her. Mash bit her lip to stifle herself from making a scared noise as she practically stormed into the girls bathroom and locked herself in a stall. She let out the breath she had no idea she was holding and she panted heavily, bracing herself against the wall. Why was this happening? She couldn’t remember anything that happened the night she was attacked, but she still felt like the woman could hurt her and her classmates. Mash didn’t even know the woman, but she still felt unsafe in a place she always felt safe in. She was confused about a lot of things, but Mash felt like she was steadily calming down. She unlocked the stall and walked to one of the sinks before she turned on the faucet and splashed her face with cold water a few times. What was she doing? Mash wanted to make Ritsuka _less_ guilty. She wasn’t helping him by making him worry. Mash patted her face firmly so that she could snap out of it before she sighed and turned around.

The woman was standing right in front of her.

Mash gasped sharply, jumping in surprise and nearly shrieking had it not been for how the woman smiled evilly and put a finger up to her lips in a shushing gesture. Mash trembled, her knees struggling to hold her weight. Her breath was coming out in short gasps as she tried to piece together who the woman was and why she wouldn’t leave her alone. Mash tried to move away from the woman but she couldn’t. She grabbed Mash’s wrist with an iron grip and forced the poor highschooler back in front of her. Mash fought to get her arm out of the woman’s vice like grip, but the woman only gripped her wrist tighter. Mash tried again, putting more effort into getting her arm free, but the woman still forced her back. The woman looked annoyed now, so she moved and grabbed Mash by her shoulders. That seemed to be the last straw for poor Mash, so she did the only thing a normal person would do in a situation like this.

Mash screamed.

Mash screamed as loud as her lungs would allow while she fought to escape the woman’s grip, but the woman shook her roughly. Mash’s skull rattled and her glasses nearly slipped off her face, and the woman’s annoyed look melted into a wide and devilish grin.

“Let go! Let go of me! Leave me alone!” She yelled, jerking her arms away from the woman. The woman only gripped her arms tighter. Mash felt like her lungs had a huge hole in it, she didn’t feel like she was breathing in any oxygen. The lack of air made her feel lightheaded, and Mash barley got to take a look at the woman in all the confusion. Mash let out frantic sobs as her eyes took in the face of the person standing in front of her.

It was like something out of her nightmares.

The woman’s features were different. Her hair, which was originally eggplant purple and short, had splotches of long blonde strands. Her right eye was slightly bigger than her left, and it was blue instead of the purple she recognized from that dreaded moment she was attacked. The woman’s nose was deformed, half of it was normal and the other half seemed enlarged. Her mouth was split into two halves right down the middle, one half a worried frown and the other half a cruel grin. Blonde hair and blue eyes...it reminded Mash of one of her classmates, but she couldn’t even think about that with how she was struggling to free herself.

_“Mash..._ Mash, snap out of-- _Forget this happened_.”

The woman sounded like someone was trying to talk over her, and Mash felt tears run down her face as she began to collapse. Her vision swam and blurred before it faded to black as she pleaded the same chant over and over again.

_“No, please...let go of me...let go...”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no I didn’t catch “you know what” and die I’m completely healthy and I hope all of you are too <3  
> Sorry for the really REALLY late update shit hit the fan and I had to move to online schooling and the workload is tough so ehhhh  
> Anyway i hope you all are safe and healthy and make sure you keep yourselves socially distant ^_^


	24. Thursday Night

**evening.**

“I’m telling you, Holmes, I know what I heard!”

Arash was stumped. He really was. In all the time he’s been a deputy, he really hasn’t seen something like this before. Or he _has_ seen it before...twice actually, but he didn’t know as much as he did now. When the first killing spree in the city happened, he was somewhat clueless.

The keyword is “somewhat”.

Arash knew about vampires, believe it or not. His dad--who was known to be a complete nut job before he died--had always read about the supernatural, and he read about it to Arash when he was little. So to start, Arash knew the basics: (1) vampires don’t eat human food, they drink blood, (2) vampires don’t lie, and (3) silver will make them your bitch. If you knew the basics, then all you had to do was work off of that in order to find out more about those bloodsuckers. So yeah, Arash knew about vampires.

Arash just didn’t know vampires were _real_.

Since he hadn’t met Ozymandias yet during the first killing spree, so he really didn’t know that vampires were real until a few years before the second killing spree. The banker had suddenly called Arash and asked to meet up with him so that they could talk, which was weird because the only way the two knew each other was from the one time Arash needed a loan to pay for some things he owed money for. At the time the deputy thought Ozymandias was going to talk to him about the loan he had taken out and cancel it, or maybe even give him an extension to the payments.

The _last_ thing Arash expected was Ozymandias greeting him with canine fangs.

The deputy really didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to stare, but those fangs looked _really_ sharp. It had caught him completely off guard, so Arash went through his own personal “stages of disbelief”. First, he pretended like he was seeing things...but Ozymandias shot that thought down really fast.

_“You aren’t seeing things.”_

So Arash kept avoiding the topic instead. He talked about the weather, a new book he was reading, even what his buddies were talking about at work...but Ozymandias kept bringing his attention back.

_“Don’t play dumb. I know you already know about me, even if it’s just the basics.”_

Arash had then looked at him for a few moments before he moved onto stage three. He told Ozymandias that he didn’t want to be a part of what he was planning...but Ozymandias was really stubborn.

_“If you know then you’re already a part of it.”_

Okay, then. Stage four it was. Arash didn’t say anything, he just turned to leave without another word...but Ozymandias promptly grabbed his wrist with an annoyed look, his grip almost painful.

_“Don’t test me. These teeth aren’t for show.”_

That statement had scared Arash half to death, since it was an obvious threat, but Ozymandias had acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary. After a moment fear melted into annoyance. Ozymandias couldn’t hurt Arash even if he genuinely wanted to; they were both out in the open where everyone could see. Arash was thoroughly irked at that point, but he sighed and remembered what his dad used to tell him about messing with a vampire’s temper. The deputy pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again before he looked at the banker. Arash wasn’t about to be played here, no. It was time for stage five. He looked at Ozymandias and asked him what the hell he wanted, half expecting the guy to make up a half-assed story...but Ozymandias answered simply and honestly.

_“I want you to help me track down the ones that turned me.”_

Of course, vampire talk was foreign to Arash at the time so it took a few moments for him to realize that “turned me” actually meant “made me into a vampire”. Arash had spluttered in frustration before he spoke.

_“How the hell am I supposed to know where those people are?” Ozymandias let go of his wrist and crossed his arms._

_“I’ve been looking for a while, but there are some things a deputy can get to easier than a banker can.”_

_“What? So you’re using me?!” Arash demanded._

_“Yes.” Ozymandias was brutally honest. “As a deputy, you have access to all kinds of records that I can’t get to. So you’re going to help me.” The fact that Arash’s hard earned badge was going to be used to get information like a shady drug dealer kind of hurt his pride, but he steeled himself._

_“No deal. I’m not some sort of snack you can walk around with.”_

_“I’m not going to drink you.” Ozymandias huffed, sounding a little frustrated before he spoke again._

_“All I want is to hunt them down.”_

_Arash could instantly tell that this man had some_ **_serious_ ** _beef with whoever turned him from his tone, which was thick with bloodlust. It made the hairs on Arash’s neck and arms stand straight up as nervous goosebumps rippled down his body. Arash took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair before he sighed._

_“How long do you think we’ll be tracking them for?” He asked._

_“A while.” Ozymandias answered. “But I’ll pay for anything you need if I have to.” Arash blinked in surprise before he shook his head frantically. If it was one_ **_sane_ ** _thing his wacko dad had taught Arash, it was to not accept money from anyone no matter how rich they were. Doing nice things isn’t a job, so you shouldn’t be paid for helping someone out._

_“No, no! Forget about it.” Arash said. “I’ll give my boss a notice and I’ll call you.”_

_“If I’m forcing you into something you don’t want to be a part of I should at least--” Ozymandias started. Arash’s phone rang abruptly, making the deputy quickly look to the other man before he spoke._

_“I have to take this. Let’s talk about payment after we find them.”_

And a while after that, just like he promised, Ozymandias had hunted the ones he was looking for.

What Ozymandias ended up doing to the group wasn’t really something Arash liked to talk about, but the madman did his fiance and brother justice. He had his revenge on the nest that turned him without any mercy or control over himself. Ozymandias had literally walked into to the abandoned warehouse and slaughtered all of them in a ballistic rage. If Arash hadn’t been there then the vampire probably would’ve ran outside, found the nearest group of humans, and had each and every one of them for dinner until his thirst was satisfied. The deputy couldn’t bring himself to forget the sight even until now.

_“Ozymandias!” He shouted, taking his cover behind a forklift as the banker lifted a brick and hurled it at Arash, clearly aiming to take the deputy’s head clean off. Arash ducked, gritting his teeth before he pulled out his gun. He peeked again to see Ozymandias advancing towards him, his bloodshot eyes making it clear that he only had one goal in mind._

_“Ozymandias, snap out of it!” Arash yelled again. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out three silver bullets before he quickly loaded his gun and aimed at Ozymandias, who only seemed to get angrier at the move. This was crazy. This was_ **_beyond_ ** _insane. Arash was seriously contemplating shooting the guy he’d been helping for God knows how long. He didn’t want to shoot him. God, if he could run up to the banker and shake him by the shoulders he would, but Arash knew better. The second Arash got close enough for Ozymandias to make a move, he was history. Hell, Ozymandias could attack Arash right now if he wanted to. Vampires weren’t cowards, the banker could close up the distance between the two in an instant and end the deputy’s life faster than he could blink._

_But Ozymandias didn’t do anything like that._

_Arash’s experienced aim began to tremble before he grit his teeth. This wasn’t okay. He couldn’t bring himself to shoot the banker. Ozymandias didn’t want to hurt Arash. He couldn’t control himself and his behavior, but he still didn’t want Arash to get hurt. The fact that Ozymandias hadn’t completely killed Arash until now meant he was trying to stop himself._

_It meant he was still human at heart._

Arash was impressed at how he hadn’t gotten himself eaten considering Ozymandias’s damn near terrifying behavior, but he managed to calm the guy down. Hence, the story of how the human deputy and vampire banker had both become best friends. It was funny how they had started out basically as strangers but they still ended up being best friends. Since then, Ozymandias would talk to him comfortably instead of being too cautious to say anything, and Arash’s own hesitation and discomfort around the guy had completely disappeared. Arash wished every vampire was as resilient and tranquil as Ozymandias, and he wished that every human was as understanding and helpful as himself...but that obviously wasn’t the case.

_That_ brings us to Arash’s current situation.

Ozymandias had stressed to Arash not to tell the detectives anything about the enemy nest or the fact that vampires existed in the first place, but they were a terrible incident away from finding everything out. Moriarity paced back and forth in Sherlock’s office as Arash and Sherlock looked at him with a sympathetic look. The detective had been like this since they left the doctor’s office with Merlin, annoyed and very _very_ close to learning the truth since he was rambling about what he thought Arthur had done.

“You say he did _what_?!” Sherlock asked.

“Don’t even sound like you think I’m crazy, Sherlock. He hypnotized me!” Moriarity answered angrily. Arash sat quietly as he watched the quarrel between the two with a knowing look. They were close to figuring it out.

Too close.

“He’s a bartender, not a magician! James, this is too far!” Sherlock said before he looked at Arash with an exasperated look. “Do you believe this?”

“There are a lot of things I’m having a hard time believing.” Arash muttered.

“Deputy, I’m serious!” Moriarity insisted.

“Okay, why don’t you explain yourself first before you expect us to believe you?” Arash sighed.

“His eyes were weird!” Moriarity gesticulated widely with his hands as he spoke. “And I could’ve sworn they were glowing too!”

“You sound absolutely insane.” Sherlock stated. “There were a handful of people in the room that would’ve pointed it out if something seemed off.” Moriarity instantly turned to Arash.

“You were right there. You saw it too didn’t you?” He demanded.

“I was too busy cuffing Merlin. I didn’t see anything.” Arash replied, bouncing his leg up and down impatiently.

“You were standing two feet away from him! Surely you noticed _something_!” Moriarity protested.

“I noticed how you were getting on their nerves and that was pretty much it.” Arash said flatly. The detective practically had smoke coming out of his ears as he spluttered angrily.

“That’s beside the point! The point is that Arthur looked at me with the same eyes that Abby described and forced me to explain why he wasn’t a suspect.” Moriarity huffed.

“So now you think he _is_ a suspect.” Sherlock concluded, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I think that entire group is hiding something, that’s what I think.” Moriarity snapped, crossing his arms. Arash kept silent, looking down at his hands and waiting for them to tell him their next plan of action. “What do you think we should do, deputy? We’ve hit a dead end. We thought Merlin would lead us somewhere but it turns out he’s innocent.”

“What do _you_ think we should do? If you suspect him so much then what you should do is obvious.” Arash said simply.

“Well, that’s not logical considering we just told that group Arthur isn’t a suspect.” Sherlock said. That annoyed Arash a little bit. He really couldn’t understand these detectives. Arthur was a suspect to them now, but they won’t interrogate him because they care about what the others think.

“Make up your mind, detective.” Arash said bitterly. “Is he a suspect or not? You can’t keep chasing your own tail.”

“I don’t--” Moriarity took a deep and frustrated breath.

“What did you see? Be honest, and just describe everything. Then I can help you decide if you want to go interrogate him.” Sherlock said.

“His eyes were glowing, and they seemed like the longer I looked at him the deeper I fell into his...trance.” Moriarity described.

“How long did you look at him for?”

“As fast as normal eye contact would last for. I felt like I was being forced to answer the question.” Arash sighed.

“There you have it. If you think he really did something to you then you have the right to interrogate him for it.” He ran his hand through his hair and reached into his pocket before fishing out his phone. Ozymandias wasn’t going to like this.

“I suppose so. We’ll call you when we’re ready to head over, deputy.” Sherlock said, a hint of sympathy in his voice. Arash nodded before he stood, grabbing his hat and dialing Ozymandias’s number as he walked out of the office. He pressed the phone up to his ear as he slowly walked out into the hallway towards the exit. This was getting out of hand. Arash knew that this wasn’t going to be good the second Ozymandias told Arash to “leave the situation to him”. The banker’s voice made it into his ear, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Arash. What’s the situation now?” Arash glanced around before he dropped his voice to a murmur.

“Arthur. They’re onto him again.” He said quickly, his eyes darting around to make sure nobody was around to hear him.

“What?! I thought they said he wasn’t a suspect!” Ozymandias demanded.

“Well, if he hadn’t pulled a fast one on the detective maybe he would’ve stayed that way.” Arash shot back. “Moriarity caught on to it the second it happened. He knows he was brainwashed.”

“Oh for the love of--”

“Don’t act as though this happened by rare chance. These two are as dense as humans can get. Arthur was practically _begging_ for them to suspect him, brainwashing him so openly like that.” Arash cut him off harshly, making Ozymandias go quiet for a moment. Arash was worried that he might’ve said something that annoyed his friend, but then the vampire spoke.

“You’re right. What are the detectives going to do now?” Arash ran a hand through his hair before he sighed, tiredly putting his hat on as he glanced around again.

“You know the drill. They’ll go and interrogate him now.” He said.

“Do you know when?”

“Nope. They said they’ll call me when they’re ready.” Arash paused. “You all need to be more careful.” Ozymandias didn’t say anything for a few moments, but then the banker sighed.  
  


“...Yeah. Got it.”  
  


Arash didn’t like the sound of that.

**night.**

Something was definitely up.

Medb didn’t know _what_ exactly was up, but she knew something was off about the city. She was walking in the city’s streets, looking to bump into prey in the dark, but for some reason…

...the city was completely empty tonight.

Usually there would be an occasional idiot strolling out and about and they would be lucky to fall right into the fangs of one of her nest, but there wasn’t anyone--not a single _soul_ \--out tonight. Medb glanced around, the bad feeling in her gut not pairing well with her thirst. The city was completely fine last night and the night before, so why were the streets empty now? The people couldn’t have all just decided to hole up in their houses because of what her and her nest were doing, it didn’t make sense. The people couldn’t possibly be hiding out of fear because there would still be a few people that weren’t afraid, so there should be at least a couple humans walking around. Medb pulled her phone out, the bad feeling in her gut becoming more intense, before she called Diarmuid. His voice came over the other end almost immediately.

“Hello?”

“Diarmuid. Something isn’t right.” She hissed, suddenly feeling like she was being watched.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” He asked.

“There isn’t anyone to eat.” She answered, upping her pace.

“That’s probably because you aren’t looking hard enough.” Diarmuid said with a chuckle, but Medb grit her teeth.

“No. I’m serious. There isn’t a single human outside.” She said quietly. “All the shops are closed too.”

“That’s...weird.” Diarmuid said after a moment. “Where are you right now?”  
“Passing the florist shop.” Medb said.

“Out in the open?” Diarmuid asked sternly.

“It’s not like there’s anyone out to see me anyway.” She huffed. “Where are all these humans? I’m starving!” She paused when her ears picked up a sound to her left. When she looked to see what she had heard, she saw the shadow of a person quickly moving to hide in the alleyways. Medb narrowed her eyes before she began to walk towards the person, the small sound of metal lightly scraping against metal coaxing her towards the source.

“They’re probably taking cover and hiding out in their houses.” Diarmuid said. “Pretty smart, I’ll say. Yan Qing and Cu might say that they want to break into people’s houses next.” Medb neared the sound of the scraping as she hummed in response to Diarmuid’s statement.

“Not a bad idea. Anything to get a human in my stom--” Medb was suddenly cut off by someone shoving her against the wall, causing her phone to clatter to the ground. The person stomped on the device, shattering it under the force of their heel. Medb’s back collided almost painfully with a brick wall as her mouth was covered roughly, stopping her from moving and making any noise. Medb’s head was jerked forward, giving her the chance to glare at the person in front of her. She couldn’t see much besides the person’s lavender glowing eyes. The person leaned forward and spoke in a sharp masculine tone.

_“Stop resisting.”_

Medb’s eyes widened slightly at the command as she found her body freezing up and starting to oblige. She couldn’t stop herself from slowing her thrashing, and soon enough she went completely limp. Medb glared at the man a second time as he spoke again.

_“Keep quiet.”_

Medb’s lips felt like they were being glued shut. When the man moved his hand away from her mouth and tied a blindfold around her eyes, Medb couldn’t bring herself to yell, scream, or curse at the man. Medb could only sit in darkness as she was forced into a car and driven off to a new location. She didn’t know what was happening, but she knew this had to be the other nest’s doing. Medb knew that she was about to be put into a tough situation, but there was no way Diarmuid wasn’t alarmed by the sudden cut-off. Help would be on the way soon.

The only thing she could do now is wait.


	25. Thursday Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lol i have no excuses for not posting for like...forever
> 
> this chapter is just one section, but i need something to get me into a routine of posting again so eat and enjoy these crumbs lmao
> 
> with everything going on around the world I hope everyone's safe and healthy

**midnight.**

When the car came to a stop, Medb exhaled a slow and steady breath.

She had counted the amount of turns the car had taken, and if she wasn’t wrong then the car should be by the book store. The man who had kidnapped her tied her hands behind her back with an incredible tightness, which could only mean that man was a vampire like her. Of course there were other hints, like how he was able to force her as well as how his lavender eyes glowed when she caught a glimpse of them, but the fact that he was able to move her around like she was human confirmed it. Medb wet her lips and brought herself to speak despite her body’s urge to stay quiet like the vampire forced her to.

“Well? Are we going to stay parked out here forever?” She asked annoyedly.

“Are you really that excited to be held hostage? I didn’t think you would be so willing.” The man shot back, a smirk evident in his tone. Medb felt her thirst intensify with the anger the man sparked in her as he exited the car. Medb quickly wondered if she could make a break for it, but that was too risky. She didn’t know if the man’s allies were around, nor did she know how fast the man who kidnapped her was.

Looks like she was going to have to sit and deal with it.

Medb heard her car door open and she tensed, waiting for the man to do something, but nothing happened. Her first thought was that the man had opened her door and left her behind, but then she instantly ruled that out. The man couldn’t be that stupid. This was a test to see how compliant, cautious, or disobedient she was going to be in this whole situation. Medb sighed before she shook her head, making the man laugh airily.

“At least you’re smart enough to figure out that trying to escape isn’t going to help you.” He said before he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the car.

“Watch it. I’m in heels.” She said angrily. If the man was going to kidnap her, he should at least respect the fact that she wasn’t dressed for the occasion.

“Don’t worry.” The man sounded like he was chuckling, but his tone wasn’t amused at all. “You’ll sit down again in juuust a moment.” They walked for a short distance until Medb heard the sound of a door opening. She was then pushed lightly into the building and she stood off to the side.

“You’re back.” A voice of a woman filled her ears, innocent and sounding a little worried. “Is that…?”

“Yeah. Are the rest here?” The man asked. There was no reply to the question, so Medb assumed that the woman was doing something with her head or changing her expression. Medb was moved around through a very complex building before she was put down into a chair. Then she heard voices.

“Did you make sure nobody was watching?” A man’s voice. He sounded cautious, which Medb couldn’t blame him for.

“Yeah. The city’s on lockdown, remember? She was the only one walking around.” Her kidnapper’s voice. So that’s why the city was empty. It was on complete lockdown in order to protect the people.

“Are you sure she’s one of them?” The woman’s voice, but her tone was different. She didn’t sound worried at all this time. She sounded accusatory.

“See for yourself.” Her kidnapper’s voice again.

“What about her phone?” Another man’s voice.

“I broke it like you told me.” Her kidnapper again. Medb made sure to keep up with the conversation as best she could. “Where are the rest?”

“Enkidu’s with Kingu, Ritsuka is with Mash, and Roman went home to get sleep.” The woman’s voice, but this time it sounded worried again. That confused Medb a bit. Was the woman bipolar or something?

“What about Nightingale and Arash?” Her kidnapper again.

“On standby. We don’t have much time before the detectives show up and talk to Arthur.” A third man’s voice, which was deeper than the man who kidnapped her. It was silent for a few moments before there was the sound of someone approaching her.

Then her blindfold was torn off.

Medb jerked her head away and looked around almost immediately. The room was only illuminated by the moonlight seeping through the windows, but she could still see everything clearly. Two girls and four boys, huh? That’s a reasonable size for a nest, the same size as her own. The two girls cleared up the confusion that Medb had. They were twins, and the only difference between the two was their hair color. That left Medb with four boys, one of them being the one that kidnapped her. Two men with blonde hair, but one had green eyes the other had red eyes. A tan man with brown hair and gold eyes, who looked at her with a threatening look. She could tell that he was probably just as strong as her kidnapper. Green...red...gold...those weren’t the colors she was looking for. Medb’s eyes finally settled on the last man. He was thin looking and he had long locks of white hair that tumbled down to his lower back. Medb was going to be honest, she wasn’t expecting that terrible, commanding voice to come out of a man like him. More importantly...he had lavender eyes. Medb glared at him immediately.

“You.” She stated angrily. The man tilted his head with a small smile.

“You aren’t really in the best situation to be hostile.” He said, his eyes seeming to drill holes straight through her own. Medb found it hard to keep eye contact with him.

“So? You got me. What do you want?” She asked, looking away with an indignant huff.

“Do you want the scripted answer or the honest answer?” The man with red eyes asked.

“Surprise me.” Medb stated.

“We want you dead.” The girl with brown hair said, crossing her arms. Medb realized at that moment how utterly cornered she was. She was surrounded by a whole nest who had human allies, who should be dead, on standby. There was _really_ no way to escape. The only thing she could do is play along with the conversation. So Medb steeled herself and smiled slightly.

“The last nest in the old city told me the same thing. What a nice coincidence.” She said.

“What do you mean?” The girl with the blonde hair held a worried hand to her chest.

“I mean, the nest in the last city my nest and I were in wanted to kill us too.” Medb repeated, a little annoyed at how dumb the question was.

“So then what made you leave the city?” The man with blonde hair and green eyes spoke. Medb squinted at him for a few moments. This had to be the guy Mordred had problems with, he fit the description perfectly.

“You’re Arthur right? Mordred talks a ton about you.” She asked. The man narrowed his eyes, but didn’t really act much against her.

“Knowing me won’t help you. Answer the question.” He said.

“Why’d we leave? Because we were bored. That nest gave in pretty quickly.” She answered slyly.

“Our kind isn’t like that and you know it. They had to put up some sort of fight.” The tan man said, his golden eyes having the same effect as the man who kidnapped her. “You killed them.”  
“That’s right. They were just like you. They gave me all this crap about how my nest had wandered into their territory, but that city was ours the second we decided to stay.” Medb said. “Complete idiots too.”

“It’s not like you’re one to talk.” The brown haired girl said. “Why is your nest going out and about killing people in the open?”

“Because we want to.” Medb answered with a smile. “Because we _can_. Your nest isn’t completely being obedient either if you have two humans on ‘standby’. Maybe even more if you’re trying to mess with me. This kind of thing gets you killed.”

“At least we tried to hide it.” The blonde girl huffed.

“But you still let them find out.” Medb insisted, trying to get the enemy nest to show their true colors more. “That’s why you should stop clinging to being human and kill them like the rest of us do.” The room was silent for a moment before Arthur spoke.

“Not a chance. How big was the nest you killed?”

“One of the common big ones. I’d say there were at least twenty.” Medb sighed.

“That’s not impressive. Those nests are dysfunctional.” Her kidnapper said.

“I’d say that’s probably why they were easy to kill.” The man with red eyes concluded.

“And easy to fool.” Medb added. “Just like you lot.”

“Hey.” The girl with brown hair snapped. “That tongue of yours is getting you into more trouble.”

“I’m sure it is, but I’m not wrong.” Medb said before she sniffed quickly and smiled. “Seven humans, hm? A filling meal.”

“They’re not for eating.” The blonde haired girl said, suddenly protective.

“Not for you, they’re not. Why don’t you think, idiots?” Medb asked. “Mordred knows where this place is, so the first place my nest is going to check for me is here. I think they’ll be absolutely thrilled to find me, a meal, and the nest that keeps getting in our way here.” The man with red eyes swore under his breath before the room went deadly silent. Vampires could hear fifteen buildings away, so Medb tilted her head and strained to hear as far as she could over the sounds of the conversations in the doctor's office plus the sound of a car approaching the building. Medb could hear five rushed footsteps coming towards her in the still silence of the city, and she guessed it would take her nest a few moments or so to show up.

“Ozymandias! They’re here! The detectives!” A man outside sounded urgent.

“Already?” The tanned man hissed. Her kidnapper looked at the girl with blonde hair.

“Ereshkigal, you need to go stall them with Nightingale. This’ll get bad if they walk back here.” He said.

“Consider it done. I’ll do my best.” The blonde girl rushed out of the room quickly.

“Hang on, what about Arthur? They’re here for him, aren’t they?” The brown haired girl asked.  
“Forget them. They don’t need to know anything.” The man with red eyes said before he walked up to Medb grabbed her face in his hand and made her look at him. “Where’s your nest?”

“They’re already on their way.” Medb said, a smile painting itself onto her face. That would set them straight. If they knew that the danger was coming to them, then they would have no choice but to let her go. They were in a tense situation where more humans could find out about them, they wouldn’t be so stupid and keep Medb tied.

But the man laughed.

Medb’s eyes widened slightly before the man harshly let go of Medb’s face, looking over at his nest.

“You heard her.” He said simply. What did that mean? Were they planning this the whole time? What was this nest up to?

“Why are you so calm about this, hm?” Medb asked.

“Who said anything about being calm?” The brown haired girl asked, her eyes suddenly piercing. Medb grit her teeth, hoping the enemy nest wouldn’t get any ideas. “Let’s get a little more info before her friends show up.”

“Okay.” The blonde man leered at her as he spoke. “Who brought you to this city? Surely you didn’t decide to come here yourself.”

“I’m not telling you anything.” Medb spat.

 _“Answer the question.”_ The order came from Ozymandias, and she cringed. So this nest had two vampires who could force her. How annoying.

“Mordred.” Was all she brought herself to say. Arthur seemed to pause for a moment, and Medb guessed that she had made him angry.

“Take it easy, Arthur.” An absentminded remark from the brown haired girl.

“Why’d he tell you to come here?” Arthur asked after a moment. Medb bit her tongue harshly before she could say anything. She refused to put Mordred in more trouble. Not only because she cared, but because then the enemy nest would have more of a reason to kill him first. Medb sensed something coming for her neck and her eyes widened as she moved to dodge, tilting her head back with grit teeth. Medb peeked a look down at her neck to see dangerously long claws pressing against her neck, poking deep enough into her skin to be painful. Medb looked for the person assaulting her to see her kidnapper looking down at her with a blank look. His lavender eyes, which was usually the key way to tell what a vampire was feeling, were clouded over. He smiled down at her simply, but all of Medb’s instincts were telling her this guy was trouble.

“Stop resisting.” He hummed. “If you keep at it then we’ll think you’re useless and we’ll kill you.” Medb kept her mouth shut. Just a few seconds longer...that’s all she needed. Her kidnapper frowned slightly when she huffed out an annoyed breath.

“Still won’t talk?” Ozymandias asked. “We got what we needed anyway. Do it, Merlin.”

“Okay.” The man’s voice almost sounded like a purr as he began to move. Medb clicked her tongue, flinching her eyes shut quickly as she braced herself.

Suddenly, the wall burst open.

The next thing Medb knew, she was being swept into Diarmuid’s arms as Mordred, Cu, and Yan Qing kept the others from attacking. They regrouped at the hole in the wall as the two nests had a staring contest, sizing each other up with their inhuman eyes that glowed brightly in the dark room.

“Ufufu...we left you on your own for one night and this is what we have to deal with.” Shuten drawled, placing a hand on her hip.

“It took you long enough to get here. I honestly thought I was done for, idiots.” Medb muttered, letting Diarmuid hold onto her protectively. Yan Qing tilted his head, looking at the enemy nest.

“Mo, I thought you said there were six of them.” He said.

“Who knows, maybe she starved or something. I can never understand the ones that won’t eat humans.” Mordred huffed before he grinned. “Yo, Arthur. How does being single feel?” Arthur’s eyes flashed as his expression twisted with anger, making Mordred sneer. “That’s a good look on you. Not human in the slightest.”

“How did they give you a hard time, Mordred? They don’t look very fun.” Shuten pouted.

“Says who? I’ve been waiting to kill my boredom. Wiping out another nest seems fun to me.” Yan Qing said, cracking his knuckles.

“Cut it out. We got what we came here for didn’t we?” Cu asked.

“Oh? Are you leaving already?” Merlin asked, his fake smile making a show of his fangs. “And here I was thinking things were finally getting interesting.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” Diarmuid said bitterly.

“You sound like you’d rather be anywhere but here. I’m guessing _he_ dragged you here?” The brown haired girl said, pointing at Mordred. Diarmuid didn’t answer. “Don’t keep quiet. She already sold him out.”

“You forced me to.” Medb shot back. “If you didn’t, then I wouldn’t have--”

“Forced?” Diarmuid asked, cutting her off.

“That makes sense. It doesn’t seem like any of you can take on that kind of tone. Do you want an example?” Ozymandias asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head. Diarmuid quickly covered Medb’s ears, and she decided to stop the man before he kept talking. She grabbed the clipboard that was sitting on a medical counter and flung it at his head, making sure it’d hit him in a way that’d shut him up.

“Bad move.” The red eyed man stated, snatching the clipboard out of the air right before it hit his nestmate. He examined the clipboard with an unimpressed look. “Did Merlin hurt your arm or something?” Medb felt anger flare up in her. That man didn’t think her throw was strong. He carelessly tossed the clipboard to the side before he looked at her nest again.

“Don’t you think you’ve made a mistake showing up here, Mordred?” Arthur asked, looking like he was trying to control himself. He probably didn’t want to alert the detectives in the front of the office, but that was inevitable at this point. Mordred tilted his head.

“Not really. I’ve been wanting to come here since I talked to Bedivere.” He said. The brown haired girl placed a hand on Arthur’s shoulder as she pointed at Mordred.

“That’s the one who picked on Nightingale and brainwashed Bedivere.” She pointed at Yan Qing next. “That’s the one Kingu described, and…?” Arthur pointed at Shuten.

“She’s the one who attacked Mash.” He finished. Ozymandias tilted his head and pointed at Cu simply.

“He’s the one that bumped into me before he went off to kill four people.” He said, making Cu click his tongue.

“Did you come to this city just to see if Arthur starved himself?” Merlin asked.

“Morgan told me this place had good humans to eat so we took her up on her offer.” Mordred said. “That and yeah, I didn’t think Arthur would last long after I turned him.”

“So then why did you brainwash Bedivere?” Arthur asked, his tone icy.

“Because I told him to.” Medb said, making Arthur’s head snap to her. Diarmuid tightened his protective hold on her. “Don’t give me that look. Humans know about you, so we’re doing you a favor by killing the ones that know so that you don’t have to.”

“We never asked you to.” The blonde man said as Yan Qing sniffed the air lightly.

“Smells like the one I ate.” He said, more to himself then to his nest before he grinned at the man. “Did you know them? What a waste! They tasted so good, you had a meal under your nose the whole time and didn’t even bother t--”

Next thing Medb knew, Yan Qing was on his back.

The blonde man had pinned him to the ground, his hand pressing down against his neck with an unforgiving amount of force. Yan Qing grinned up at the man in response, gripping the man’s wrist as he slowly took in air. Both men let themselves go appearance-wise, fangs and claws shining under the light of the moon that came through the windows and the hole in the wall.

“Hey! Gilgamesh--” The brown haired girl started.

“Shut up.” The blonde snarled, not looking up at the girl. “I’ve had just about enough of this group.”

“My bad, were you friends or something? Don’t worry, they wouldn’t give me any info, so I drank their blood.” Yan Qing taunted.

“I’ll make you cough up every drop you swallowed.” Gilgamesh spat, tightening his grip on Yan Qing’s neck before he punched him in the gut. An audible _‘oof!’_ escaped Yan Qing’s mouth before the rest of her nest moved to carry out the plan they agreed on. If one of them was attacked, that gave them all permission to fight back with no mercy. Mordred smiled wickedly and moved to lunge for Arthur, but the man grabbed his wrist and slammed him against the wall easily with one hand, causing a loud _thump_ to resonate in the room. Cu grimaced, using the moment of distraction to attack the brown haired girl, who gasped in surprise and raised a defensive arm when he moved to knock her out.

“Ishtar!” The blonde haired girl, Ereshkigal's, voice made its way into Medb’s ears before she saw the girl run into the room. Diarmuid narrowed his eyes before he ran for the girl, putting her in an armlock before holding his claws up to her neck.

“I wouldn’t struggle if I were you, Miss.” He muttered quickly, making Ereshkigal freeze in her place. Just as Cu’s arm was about to hit the other girl, Ishtar, across the face, Medb felt something press against the back of her head. When she glanced over at Shuten, Medb saw that she was in the same situation.

“Freeze. Nobody move.”

The voice was sharp and masculine, but it didn’t go anywhere near shouting volume. Medb glanced up to see the most confusing kind of hostage situation she’d ever seen. A man with a mustache held a gun up to Arthur’s head, and Merlin held his claws up threateningly to the man’s neck. Yan Qing was still pinned down by Gilgamesh, but another man held a gun up to his head, and Ozymandias was threatening the man the same way Merlin was. A small boy stood curiously behind Merlin as the vampire put an arm between him and the rest of the room. A woman with pink-ish hair had grabbed Cu’s wrist and pointed a gun to his head as Ishtar quickly managed to move and threaten Diarmuid since he was holding her twin. On top of all of that, someone was standing behind Medb and Shuten...and they were holding guns up to their heads as well.

“I’m sorry…” Ereshkigal began quietly. “All the noise alerted them, so I couldn’t keep them back.”

“What in the…” The man with the mustache started as his brain caught up to his eyes. Medb found herself smiling despite the situation she was in. The man really looked stupidly amusing as he tried to find the right words to say.

“The cops? Is this the best you could do?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“These are silver bullets, lady. Keep your mouth shut.” The man behind her said, nudging the back of her head with the gun.

“Arash?” The man holding the gun to Gilgamesh’s head asked incredulously.

“Sorry, Holmes. You too, Moriarity. I knew something you didn’t.” The man said.

“What’s going on?” Moriarity tightened his grip on his gun. His eyes were glued to Arthur’s mouth, and his finger kept tightening around the trigger.

“Calm down, detective. You don’t want to make a mistake you’ll regret.” Merlin said calmly. “I’ll explain everything.”

“How will you explain? This is straight out of fiction to them.” Diarmuid asked, a bitter tone in his voice. He wasn’t very happy with how this was playing out.  
“Take a look around. This is exactly what it looks like.” Merlin replied, and that’s when Medb realized that none of the vampires really had an excuse to get themselves out of this mess.

They were all caught, fangs out and everything.

“This is insane.” Moriarity huffed, shaking his head.

“Believe it or die. There isn’t really much of a choice for you to make.” Ozymandias said bitterly.

“Hey gramps.” Mordred started from where he was pressed against the wall. “I heard you suspected Arthur. You’ve got all the evidence you need.”

“Shut up.” Arthur said through grit teeth. “If you’re gonna kill people you should at least admit you killed them.” Mordred stomped on his foot, making Arthur grunt slightly.

“What did you say?” Mordred asked, looking like he was about to turn around and punch his rival in the face.

“You both aren’t in any position to be arguing.” Holmes stated before he sighed. “Sharp teeth and claws. That’s all the evidence we need.”

“Mr. Holmes, please understand, the group you’re after isn’t the group you suspect.” The pink haired girl said.

“Oh, I know that voice.” Mordred mumbled.

“Is that the girl that you wanna kill so badly, Mordred?” Cu asked.

“Yeah.” The simple reply made Medb look at the girl. She seemed more composed than the detectives, and she looked like she knew what was going on pretty well.

“There you have it.” Ishtar said. “Murderous intent towards Nightingale.”

“If murderous intent is all you need to figure it out, your pal here has been strangling me for five minutes now.” Yan Qing managed. “The ‘murderous intent’ is practically radiating.” Medb noticed how the detectives looked torn, but Arash spoke from behind her.

“Holmes, if you don’t trust them then listen to me. He’s the person Abby described as the one who attacked her.” He said, probably gesturing to Mordred. “He’s the one who attacked Kingu, and she’s the only one here closest in appearance to the person in the security footage the night Mash was attacked. The descriptions match 100%.” The detectives looked around before realization crossed their faces, making Medb grit her teeth. This wasn’t good.

“U-umm…” The boy started, making a vague feeling settle in Medb’s stomach as he pointed at her. “She’s the one who called me.” Medb was confused for a moment. Called him? She and her nest never saw humans unless they were going to eat. Did he mean she called him over the phone? In that case…

It all made sense.

Medb felt her lips twitch upwards into a wicked smile. This was the boy she called over the phone when she broke into her parents’ apartment.

“What a surprise. You actually spilled the beans after I told you not to.” She said.

“I didn’t have much of a choice.” The boy muttered.

“Yes you did. Keep your mouth shut or else your parents would be my dinner.” Medb crossed her arms and tilted her head. “I’m glad you tattled on me though. I can eat those two and it’ll be your fault, not mine.”

“That’s enough. I think it’s pretty clear where the divide is.” Moriarity reached for his belt to pull out a pair of cuffs before he looked at Mordred, who grinned.

“Don’t bother, I’ll break them.” He said.

“Shit.” The detective muttered. “What should we do?”

“That’s a good question.” Medb said, making a dramatic act of thinking. “You can let us go or else we’ll target you next. Since you’re so easy to find, it won’t matter if we attack you in the daytime or nighttime.”

“Ozymandias?” Merlin looked over at his nestmate with an arched brow. The tanned man thought for a moment before nodding. Arash moved slowly, making sure his guns were still up against her and Shuten’s heads. Medb watched him intently, waiting for him to mess up so that she could turn the tables.

“Move and I’ll shoot.” He said quietly. “This is your chance to leave.” Medb and Shuten stepped backwards out into the open before she looked at Shuten. With a small nod, they both jumped onto the rooftop behind them.

“How annoying.” Shuten sighed as they turned to jump towards the next building. “They have more allies now.”

“Don’t be like that.” Medb said as she smiled evilly.

“We know exactly what they all look like now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe feral gilgamesh hehehe


	26. Friday Morning II.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> im not dead, im just going to post sections of the chapters now instead of a full 5k word chapter lol
> 
> i have no excuses for not having a regular update schedule im so sorry i have a calculus final in like 2 days please i'll write often when im on my break.
> 
> please accept my apology with roman/merlin stuffz

**dawn.**

Roman woke up to the sound of something shifting in his apartment.

He had been  _ exhausted _ for the past couple of days, since he hadn’t particularly had a proper night’s sleep since Kingu was brought to the office. It was only last night that he was finally,  _ finally _ able to go back to his new apartment and sleep.

But of course Roman couldn’t have that for long.

Sitting up slowly and carefully so that he wouldn’t alert the person in his apartment, Roman got out of bed and armed himself with a tennis racket before sneaking his way out of his room. He hid behind the wall separating the hallway and the bedroom, pressing his back against it carefully as he strained to listen to whoever was in his apartment. There was the sound of shuffling and sliding, which made Roman raise the tennis racket over his head, not afraid to sacrifice it to save himself. Roman took a deep breath, steeling himself before squeezing his eyes shut and jumping out from behind the wall, swinging the racket at the intruder.

“Woah! Is this how you greet all of your guests, Romani~?”

The voice was smooth with a teasing lilt to it, and it sounded familiar enough for his eyes to ease open. Roman only knew one person with that voice, and that person could only be—

“Merlin?!”

Roman stared in disbelief at the man in front of him, wearing a cheeky grin as well as sweatpants and a black tank top.

“Good morning.” He said with a smile and a wink. Roman narrowed his eyes, not moving it from where Merlin had stopped his tennis racket from hitting his jaw with one hand.

“What the hell are you—” Roman started.

“Doing in your apartment?” Merlin finished. “I thought I’d pay a visit since I haven’t seen you in a while!”

“A day isn’t a while, idiot.” Roman muttered. “Get out.” Merlin pouted slightly, but there was a proud gleam in his eye.

“Oh come on! Are you really going to kick me out without thanking me for the help?” He asked.

“What are you talking abo—” Roman stopped himself short before he took a second to look around. His living room, which had been crammed full of boxes and containers he never had a chance to unpack, was now fully furnished. Not only that, but Merlin had placed vases of flowers in each corner of the room.

“I figured since you were always busy, I’d help you out!” Merlin said cheerfully.

“Wow...I mean, it looks really nice. I don’t think I could have furnished it like this…” Roman said. Merlin smiled proudly, placing his hands on his hips as he examined his work.

“Right? You should be thanking me!” He said. Roman looked back at him, taking in how the man’s smile luminated his face. Merlin looked at him, making him jump before he scratched the back of his head.

“Ah, thanks...I guess.” Roman grumbled before he looked closer at the flowers. They were white, the petals whiter than the taller man’s hair. Roman didn’t recognize the plant, but he was interested. “What kind of flower is this?”

“Gardenias. They match well with the furniture in the room don’t they? Makes it seem more...homely.” Merlin explained.

“Are these from your shop?” Roman asked.

“Well, yeah. I can’t have this place looking as boring as your fashion taste.” Merlin teased, making Roman splutter angrily.

“It is  _ not _ boring!” He said.

“Well, at least right now it isn’t.” Merlin agreed, looking knowingly at his body.

It was right about then that Roman realized he was only wearing boxers.

His face caught fire immediately as he scrambled to cover himself, spluttering loudly as Merlin watched him suffer.

“Don’t look! What are you even staring at?!” Roman was desperate to find anything to put between him and Merlin’s hungry gaze.

“You, obviously.” Merlin replied cheerfully. Roman turned around and hunched over himself, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor as his cheeks burned.

Big mistake.

Roman tensed sharply when he felt a cold body drape over him, arms wrapping around his waist as a chin rested on his shoulder.

“There. You’re covered now, aren’t you?” Merlin’s voice was low and quiet, and Roman felt his brain internally combust. At least  _ that _ would warm him up a little, the man holding him was cold enough for Roman to think that he could sit in the fridge and still be warmer.

“This isn’t what I meant…” Roman mumbled. Merlin’s face snuggled into Roman’s neck, inhaling deeply as though there wasn’t any oxygen in the air.

“Mmm, your hair is shorter than I expected.” Merlin murmured. “I thought it would be shorter because of the ponytail you keep it in.”

“I’m not getting it cut, if that’s what you’re saying.” Roman tried to move his head away, but Merlin pressed closer.

“Not at all. It’s the opposite. I like it like this.” Merlin took in another deep breath before chuckling quietly. “Your heart is beating so fast.”

“Who’s fault is that?” Roman found himself saying. Merlin’s arms tightened slightly around his waist, his fingers drawing small little patterns over his stomach. Roman shivered.

“Hm...I wonder…” Merlin sounded lost in thought. “You feel so warm.”

“That makes one of us. You’re freezing, so get off of me.” Roman huffed. Merlin’s hand slid up from his stomach and rested over his heart.

“Won’t you warm me up?” Merlin asked innocently, his cold palm brushing over the doctor’s nipple. “Ereshkigal and Nightingale are okay with letting you have the morning off.” Roman indulged himself in Merlin’s touch for a brief moment longer before he brushed the man’s hands away.

“Nightingale needs to sleep too.” Roman said, folding his arms over his chest. He could still feel where Merlin’s teasing hands had wandered.

“Nightingale already took her nap.” Merlin’s voice was dangerously close to Roman’s ear. It was like a caress, his breath hot in a subtle contrast to his freezing body. It wrapped Roman up in a blazing blanket and sent full body shudders up and down his spine before the warmth burned in his core. “You haven’t slept well enough though. Won’t you come back to bed?” Roman felt dizzy, teetering on the edge of wanting to touch and wanting to wait, but he didn’t really know what he was waiting for.

“I…” He started, his voice as weak as his knees felt.

“Give in, Romani. You have time, don’t you?” Merlin purred, dragging his tongue along Roman’s neck. His hands slid from his chest then to his abs before resting on the inside of Roman’s thighs, an action meant to sooth Roman, but only served in making him tense up more. Merlin touched, but he didn’t touch where Roman wanted him to the most. “Besides…” Roman bit his lip as Merlin pressed himself completely against the doctor, letting Roman feel  _ everything _ as Merlin spoke his next words breathily.

“I know you want this as much as I do.”

The words were like honey, dripping from Merlin’s lips into Roman’s mouth as he was spun around and pressed against the nearest wall. The kiss wasn’t slow, not at all. Merlin was a starved man, and Roman was on the menu. Roman almost struggled to keep up as Merlin pressed his tongue between his lips and tasted the other in full, his breath coming in short puffs as he returned the kiss desperately. Merlin yanked Roman’s legs up, not even struggling to keep the other’s weight up as he kept Roman’s legs around his waist. Just the thought of how Merlin could use that strength against him had a jolt of arousal spiking through him. Roman was dizzy with pleasure and the lack of oxygen, his fingers instinctively finding their place in Merlin’s hair when the florist pulled away from his mouth to kiss at his neck. In a small part of his brain, a more rational part, Roman realized that Merlin didn’t bite. Merlin simply alternated between licking and sucking his neck, creating fireworks of pleasure under Roman’s skin. With everything happening at once and too many things flooding his senses, Roman couldn’t help the moan that flew out of his lips a little too loudly for his liking.

Merlin froze.

Roman’s face flushed with embarrassment as he covered his mouth with his hand, looking off to the side as he brought himself to speak.

“I’m sorry, I was too into it and I guess it just slipped…” Roman rushed his words, fearing that he wouldn’t be able to completely explain himself. He shrugged away from Merlin, his body feeling uncomfortably hot as he choked out another sentence before Merlin could protest. “I’ll go take a shower so that I can make breakfast…” With that, Roman rushed his way down the hall and into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him before he pressed his back against it.

_ What...just happened…? _

Roman was struggling for breath, sliding down to the floor and suddenly realizing that his heart was absolutely  _ racing _ . Roman buried his face into his hands, letting out a long and frustrated breath. Merlin kissed him, and Roman kissed back. They were doing so well too, a little more and they would have been...

_ Why the hell would you move away, idiot?! _

Roman had no idea how to answer that question, all he knew was that he should be mentally slapping himself for it. He and Merlin were  _ clearly _ into it, so why did he back off? The thought bothered Roman a lot, so he rubbed his eyes harshly before turning on the shower. He made sure to keep the water cold since the effect Merlin had on Roman’s body wasn’t exactly hidden in his simple boxers (which he took off with a sigh), then he stepped under the cold spray. Roman decided to keep his shower relatively short so that he wouldn’t give his brain enough time to berate him over his embarrassment. Once he was done with his shower and he was ready to face his fear of reliving the past hour of his life, Roman walked out to his living room again. Merlin looked up from where he was sitting on the dining room table before he smiled, his chin sitting comfortably in the palm of his hand.

“You’re still here.” Roman said.

“Of course. Today’s my day off and I can’t spend it staring at a wall.” Merlin beamed as he spoke, making Roman’s eyebrow twitch before he sighed.

“You’re such a piece of work.” Roman muttered as he took a seat on a stool, reaching to grab an apple from the fruit bowl before biting into it. Merlin didn’t reply, he simply shrugged with a smile which quickly faded as he brought up the next topic.

“I ran into one of the murderers last night.”

Roman’s brain had the initial reaction of shock before it was flooded with worry.

“You  _ what _ ?” Roman stood up sharply before walking over to the man, scanning him all over with intent eyes. “Are you hurt? They didn’t attack you did they? We have to call the police.” Merlin chuckled as he let the doctor prod and examine his body.

“Relax, Romani. I’m ten steps ahead of you. The police know everything.” He said. “I’m not hurt either, so you can quit worrying.” Roman clicked his tongue.

“You keep getting yourself into trouble, don’t you ever learn?” He said, peeved. Roman bit into his apple again.

“It’s not like I wanted to see them, and besides…” Merlin beamed. “As long as I’m not hurt there’s no reason to worry, right?”

“Well yeah, but--” Roman started.

“So quit worrying!” Merlin said cheerfully before changing the subject. “You live here alone, right?” Roman paused mid-chew.

“Yeah, it’s just me.” He answered carefully.

“What a coincidence, Arthur is moving in with Lancelot and Gawain for a bit and I’m going to be left alone for a bit…” Merlin started, stretching his arms over his head as Roman squinted at him skeptically.

“What are you getting at?” He asked.

“Don’t look at me like that, I heard those murderers break into houses...I just can’t help but be a little worried…” Merlin wore a small little pout on his face as Roman deadpanned.

“You got into a fight with one of them and managed to survive and you’re worried?” Roman asked before he blinked in realization. “Wait--you mean you’re worried about  _ me _ ?!” Merlin’s pout melted into a small smile, which spread into a wide grin.

“Who else? Everyone else at the office is living with someone, you’re the only one living on your own. Think of it as an extra protection measure. After all…” A mischievous glint flashed in Merlin’s stupidly pretty lavender eyes. “I did ‘get into a fight with one of them and managed to survive’.” Merlin made air quotes as he spoke, making Roman’s eyebrow twitch before he sighed.

“What about Nightingale and her grandmother?” He asked.

“Nightingale is letting a few relatives take her grandmother out of the city for a few weeks.” Merlin answered. Roman frowned.

“So she’d be alone.” Merlin held up a finger as if to say  _ I’m not finished _ .

“She’s moving in with Ishtar and Ereshkigal so that she’s closer to the office.” The florist explained.

“Enkidu and Kingu?”

“Moving into the empty apartment on the floor under yours.”

“The one--”

“Right next to Ozymandias and Gilgamesh’s apartment, yes.” Merlin was amused now, giving him a knowing look.

“There’s no point in arguing, is there?” Roman sighed.

“Oh come on! I know how to cook some amazing dishes, it won’t be that bad!” Merlin beamed shined with excitement and a hint of hope. “You’d only have to wait for me to move my clothes, that's it.”

Roman grit his teeth. This man, who he’d known for only a week, was asking to live with him. He was asking to wake up with him every morning, to cook food for him, to walk him to work everyday…and knowing Merlin, he’d probably give him a quick peck on the cheek too…

Ok, so maybe the idea really  _ wasn’t _ that bad.

“Fine, but I can’t harbor chores by myself. You’d better be doing everything around here.” Roman relented. Merlin smiled softly before replying.

“For you? I’d do anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the flowers merlin used to decorate roman's apartment, gardenias, symbolizes secret love between two people!
> 
> this is shorter than what i would have liked but basically, to give you the true plot behind this chunk of writing, the nest is paranoid at the fact that the bad vamps might attack the humans(specifically lancelot and gawain) so the humans and vampires will live together/next to each other for safety's sake.
> 
> also! if youd like to draw any scenes/chapters from the fic go right ahead! i'm gonna make a twitter so you have 2 mediums to reach out to me on!
> 
> please my hand slipped and suddenly merlin and roman were making out help asdfkjahd

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to fuwafuwamedb and hovercraft for helpin me out with this! I love y’all so much!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr:  
> @welpshitcannedbeef


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